Introducing...Nicole!

Hi, everyone! My name is Nicole Locatelli. I was born in San Diego and my family moved to Poway when I was just and infant. In Poway I attended Midland Elementary, Twin Peaks Middle School and I graduated from Poway High in 2006. The idea of "getting away" always appealed to me, so after graduating high school I attended San Jose State University in the Bay Area. There is where I have spent the past 5 years of my life. I began there as a Business major, quickly realized I hated it, and changed my major to Liberal Studies (Teacher Prep). I always thought I would enjoy teaching and would be rather good at it, having volunteered as a TA in a sixth grade classroom while I was still in high school. Once I changed my majored I was able to enjoy my studies much more. I also added on my Spanish minor which has also helped me greatly and given me amazing opportunities. In the summer of 2008 I got the opportunity to study abroad in Burgos, Spain, which was an incredible experience. At San Jose State I was also an active member of my sorority, Delta Gamma. Through my sorority I was able to take up various leadership positions in the organization and in my Greek campus community, which provided me an enormous amount of personal growth. And this past semester I was a founding member of The National Society for Leadership and Success (Sigma Alpha Pi) an Honors Society that supports student achieve their goals through support from peers and faculty. I graduated just this past May and I will miss my alma mater very much. It was always decided that once I graduated I would move back home to San Diego (more by my parents, than by myself). I never even questioned where I would apply to get my teaching credential--Cal State San Marcos. I have only heard amazing things about the program here and am very excited to get started!
Technology is a huge mystery to me and I almost always fail miserably when I attempt to fix something on my computer or even update my iPod. It is a real shame considering I went to college in the Silicon Valley, where I was constantly surrounded by the latest and greatest things in technology. I was often the subject matter of jokes amongst my friends for this reason. In college, I never took an online class partly because I think I learn better in the classroom setting, but also because I had this fear that I would not be able to figure out the site and I would fail to turn something in, which is the greatest fear of all. I have a Toshiba PC that my parents gave to me as a gift when I graduated from high school. I think the reason my computer has lived this long is because I hardly download music or anything, really. I basically just use my computer to write papers, check facebook and my email. I have a Twitter account, but that is only because my best friend made it for me; I hardly use it. I have a lot to learn in this area, but as long as instructions are clear and concise (and so far they have been), I should be pretty proficient by the end of this course, as I hope to be!
Cal State San Marcos's College of Education Mission Statement is one that I truly agree with. Particularly living in California, it is essential that our teachers have the tools and the frame of mind to be able to give every one of their students the help that they need, no matter what social or cultural background they come from. As role-models to children it is crucial to exemplify an eagerness to learn that you would want to see in your students. If a teacher wants to create life-long learners, they themselves have to be life-long learners. This means constantly making yourself open to change and to new experiences, and recognizing that learning does not end with school, but that it continues for the rest of our lives.