Story #33: Elda Pech
For many students, participation in JEP guides them towards their true passions, interests, and even a potential career path.
One of these students is Elda Pech.
In the nineties, Pech volunteered as a first-grade teaching assistant at Vermont Elementary School through JEP. At the time, Pech was a political science major. Teaching as a career had never once crossed her mind.
But, that would soon change. Her experience as a teaching assistant made her realize that she had a love of teaching and working with children. She promptly switched career paths, dropping the political science major for a degree in general studies. Then, she completed a masters in early childhood education from the USC Rossier School of Education.
Since then, she has held several positions as Magnolia Elementary – which happens to be down the street from Vermont Elementary School. At Magnolia, she has worked as a teacher, administrator, and data coach for school testing. She also has continued her involvement with JEP by coordinating the placement of student volunteers at the school.
“I really love going to school,” Pech said to USC News. “I don’t think learning is just what you study in books. It’s about how you apply those studies in actual experiences.”
This attitude is at the forefront of everything we do at JEP. Through service-learning, our students’ educations are enriched as they get first-hand experience related to what they’re being taught in the classroom.
If it weren’t for these experiences, Pech would be leading a very different life right now.
Pech, who’s been an education professional for roughly two decades, is now an assistant principal with the Los Angeles Unified School District.