Discovering a passion
Skyblue Mesa teacher decided to become an educator while attending UCLA
This is the third in a series of articles about Saugus Union School District teachers who are teaching at schools they once attended.
When Robyn Ortiz was a student at UCLA, she discovered her desire to work with children as an elementary school teacher.
“My mother was a teacher for 39 years, with 25 of those years in our (Saugus Union) district,” Ortiz said. “I listened to her stories of struggles and successes, and when I was offered an opportunity to work with her students as part of a literature class at UCLA, I realized how precious children are to me and how lifechanging this career can be.”
After she earned her teaching credential, Ortiz knew she wanted to return to her home district and teach alongside educators who inspired her.
“It means I can honor the education – both social and academic – I received as a student by passing those lessons on to my own students,” she said.
Ortiz found herself at her former elementary school when Skyblue Mesa’s former principal hired Ortiz due to her experience teaching upper-grade students English at Sierra Vista Junior High School.
“Initially, I had expected to teach at Skyblue for a couple of years and then transfer to Highlands so that I could teach with my mom; but I never found the ‘right’ moment to leave behind the students, colleagues and families at Skyblue I’d grown to love,” Ortiz said.
The fifth-grade teacher also felt
connected to the school due to the memories she had on the elementary school campus and the events Skyblue Mesa still held for its families.
“I reminisced about my own experiences enjoying ‘after-school time’ back at school, eating ice cream and playing with my friends and my sister,” Ortiz said. “I think those memories are also a part of the reason I stayed here.”
She also was excited to see her former fourth grade teacher, Maggie Chesnutt, at the school when she returned to Skyblue Mesa.
“Since I was teaching sixth grade at the time, I never had the chance to teach with her directly, but it was still heartwarming to sit with her during staff meetings,” Ortiz said. “I also never got over calling her ‘Mrs. Chesnutt,’ even as her fellow colleague.”