West Point Junior High's very own Mrs. Márquez-Lavine was featured on Davis School District's Social media pages.
Márquez-Lavine was interviewed to celebrate Womens History Month.
Davis School District posted the following about Márquez-Lavine:
Today, we’re proud to spotlight Paula Márquez-Lavine, a Spanish and ELD teacher at West Point Junior High.
“I had many women who impacted my life and career, but the most influential was my mom,” Márquez-Lavine said. “She was highly intelligent and dedicated, always improving and learning. Her example taught me that women bring something irreplaceable to both the home and the professional world.”
Márquez-Lavine’s journey wasn’t without its challenges. Resuming her college education as a newlywed and young mother in the U.S. was no easy feat.
“It was a struggle to figure myself out in this new environment,” she said. “But I decided to finish the degree I had started in Argentina and make myself and my parents proud.”
The next hurdle was preparing and defending her doctoral thesis proposal while juggling the responsibilities of being a full-time teacher and raising four children.
“It was the most difficult yet significant achievement of my career,” she shared. “I’m still working toward completing my dissertation, but that step was monumental.”
Being a woman in education is empowering, not just for Márquez-Lavine but for her female students as well.
“I hope that one day my students will look back and say that I was influential in their professional lives the way my teachers were for me,” she said. “As an immigrant teaching both my native language and English to other immigrant students, I feel privileged to open minds to new cultures and perspectives.”
Her advice to young women considering a career in teaching is simple but powerful.
“Take all the opportunities you can. It’s a highly rewarding career, and if you do it with love, you can change lives, including your own.”