“The only way to learn math is to do it,” says Algebra II teacher, Hilda Prado. Prado has been teaching at Godinez Fundamental High School for five years as a math teacher and enjoys every single day of it. She currently teaches Algebra II classes.

“I just really love math. Finding logical patterns, it’s fascinating,” explains Prado. She studied at Cal State Pomona and UCI to get her teaching credentials. Before teaching at Godinez, Prado helped out as a tutor at Roosevelt Elementary. Following, she started her teaching career at Godinez, with this being her first teaching position.

Prado decided to become a teacher because she loves the thrill students get when they finally understand a problem, after struggling so much.

Former student, junior Andy Martinez, who took her Algebra II Honors class during sophomore year said, “The good thing was that she offered tutoring that I went to a couple of times. It was really helpful when she taught one on one.”

Although, the path to becoming a teacher was not so easy. Being a member of the Latinx community was a huge obstacle for everyone, including Prado. “My parents didn’t go to college,” she states.

Prado was the first one in her family to go to college and had almost nobody to guide her through the process. “I didn’t know how to fill out FAFSA, I didn’t have those resources at my school.” It was a real challenge to figure out how to apply to college for her but luckily she overcame this struggle and is now teaching successfully.

Prado motivates her students to study and ask questions. She wants them to help each other and get more involved in their work.