Omar Duron
Southwest Junior High School
San Luis, AZ USA
"Jump off the block. Every day is a new opportunity to face your fears, a new opportunity to help someone, a new opportunity to make a difference."
Career Roadmap
Omar's work combines: Education, Business, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
My own family saw my pursuit of education as an accomplishment, but I've heard other people say that you shouldn't waste time on education or go down certain educational and career paths because of money. Getting my education was rewarding for me on a different level. I knew that I wanted a career that would feed my soul—a career in education. My own family saw that that's what I wanted and they were happy about it for me.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Elementary Education and Teaching
Northern Arizona University
Graduate Degree
Educational Leadership
Northern Arizona University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I was born in Mexico and moved with my parents to the United States when I was in third grade.
2.
I started my career in education as an instructional aide, serving teachers of all grade levels and helping them out in the classroom.
3.
While working full-time, I went to Northern Arizona University and earned my degree in elementary education.
4.
I spent about seven years in the classroom teaching grades three through six.
5.
I eventually wanted to see how else I could make a difference for students, so I took a position as an instructional coach to help other teachers become better at their jobs.
6.
After a few years as an instructional coach, I earned my master’s degree in educational leadership.
7.
I spent a bit of time working at the district level before settling in as the principal of Southwest Junior High School.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Don't waste your time on education.
How I responded:
My own family saw my pursuit of education as an accomplishment, but I've heard other people say that you shouldn't waste time on education or go down certain educational and career paths because of money. Getting my education was rewarding for me on a different level. I knew that I wanted a career that would feed my soul—a career in education. My own family saw that that's what I wanted and they were happy about it for me.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I came to the U.S. from Mexico when I was in third grade. I wasn't able to dive into the content in school until high school because I had to learn English. Now, I make sure that I present myself well in English but that I also remember my roots.
My family are all farm laborers. They didn't understand the full value of a college education because they didn't attend. So I took it upon myself to make sure I went to college and got the full value out of higher education.