Blog Post 1

Hello, my name is Yalimary but everyone calls me Yali for short. I was born in Chicago but mostly raised in Tampa, Fl. I am now a graduating senior at FSU with a major in theatre and a minor in Education. It was not until my 2nd year of college I realized I have a huge passion for mentoring and connecting with students, especially those who grew up in similar circumstances as myself (low-income and first-generation college students). Now my goal is to connect with students in underdeveloped areas in the means of mentoring and guiding them to college. Currently, I also run an online business where I sell vegan, luxury, and anti-aging haircare, skincare, and wellness products. I'm also very much into spirituality and love getting to know other people and their spiritual gifts. I have a bomb girlfriend who I have been with for 5 years now who attends FAMU. Together we aspire to be a powerhouse couple that achieves all of our goals and visions. 

Being a millennial, technology was used a lot more frequently in my experience of my educational career. I remember sitting in my 3rd-grade class, excited when there was a cart of computers waiting for us in the room so we can learn through different readings and exercises on the computer rather than regular textbook readings. Over the years, especially towards high school, it became common to pull out our phones to play Kahoot games or look up information needed for an assignment or project. Now in college, I have the opportunity to surf different online articles and resources to support my education, write papers, create presentations, and now connect with others over zoom during our virtual world. 

Regularly, I use social media to enhance, youtube, or even connect with colleagues over virtual gatherings to enhance my learning needs and goals. Given our current pandemic, everything has shifted to a virtual state of being, therefore social media has become packed with useful content, youtube is filled with millions of online videos that teach you just about anything, and the use of Zoom is at an all-time high. As an aspiring educator and director of a nonprofit, I utilize these resources to gain perspective on how to build my career and the best ways to get to my goals. Creating this blog for example can also be a future connection for fellow grads or beginning teachers who are figuring out the new virtual world we have transitioned to.