Anjula Kolita: DACC

There is a saying that when one road ends, another begins. Life shapes pathways for us all

and mine were destined to be in this beautiful adobe called the Dona Ana Community

College Adult Education Department in Las Cruces, NM. I am one of those lucky people

who found this opportunity at the time when I quit my job teaching in public schools. And

what a joy it has been ever since.

My journey of teaching began in India with tutoring school students. As I completed my

master’s degree in life science, I began looking for jobs. My goal was to work in a genetics’ lab or do research in biology. As life happened and I got married and moved to Australia with my husband, the ambition to work in research labs diminished. Life took a turn in another direction, and I found myself working in a Community Preschool in Canberra, Australia. I worked there for two years from 1997 -1999. It was during that time that my outlook towards interacting with students enriched and deepened to understand that as an educator we need an integrated approach to teaching.

The following year when I moved to New Mexico, I was completely out of teaching, and I got

busy in raising my two boys for few years. Once, my younger started Kindergarten, I began

volunteering and subbing at his elementary school. Later I taught full time at the same

elementary school. Furthermore, I went back to NMSU College of Education to complete another master’s program in Curriculum and Instruction. Soon the time arrived when I

made the decision to quit teaching in the public schools, and a wonderful friend of mine

who was already teaching at the Doña Ana Community College showed me the door

towards the Adult Education department.

Next, I knew that there was no looking behind. It was a thrill to be in a classroom full of adults that first year of my teaching in 2019, who came with hopes and desires to obtain their GED certification. I taught GED for five years before moving to teaching ESL. Now I am an Advanced ESL teacher who look forward to every morning and evening, four days a week during semesters to have these groups of amazing people coming to class to learn English. We learn together every day, and I try my best each day to see them thrive and that their lives are better because of being part of our learning community. Have I played a role in their lives? I do not know, but I know that there is not any other profession that could ever offer me such fulfillment.