UNH Student ESOL Advocate for Students of All Ages in Salem

Nicole Ponti (’09, ‘10G) works with multiple cultures and generations every day. For the past four years she has been working with students at Salem Elementary & High Schools and also runs community nighttime ESOL classes for adults.

“I work with students in various types of push-in/pull-out programs,” Ponti explained. “Push-in services are opportunities for me to work in the classroom and help provide support to the students; pull-out services help provide students intense scaffolding instruction out of their traditional classes so they can be successful contributors in class.”

Ponti graduated from UNH Manchester in 2009 with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication and a minor in Business. She took advantage of a liberal arts elective opportunity, venturing outside her major by taking the elective course “Exploring Education.” The course included an immersive practicum at a local elementary school where she first felt the call to become an ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) teacher. Her high grade point average made Ponti eligible to apply and she was accepted to the accelerated master’s program for elementary education. She was able to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degree in 5 years while she also received ESOL certification for grades K-12.

“The UNH Education program did an incredible job of preparing me for the classroom and all aspects of my current position,” said Ponti. “The one-year internship was an amazing experience in which grad faculty and classroom teaching supervisors created a strong mentoring environment.”

Ponti said her graduate program also provided a solid foundation and helped ease her transition from student to teacher. “Dr. Judy Sharkey is an inspiring role model. She taught me that we are not just educators of students; as ESOL professionals we are advocates for students and need to provide a voice for them.”

“I tell my students on the first day that we are a family and need to work together,” said Ponti, who likes to take a team approach to classroom learning by using games and other non-traditional teaching methods. “I speak conversational Spanish. I’ve found that you don’t need to know everything about the language to be an effective ESOL teacher. You just need to understand and respect the various cultures.”

Ponti’s long term goal is to transition into an administrative ESOL position with a school district, and to continue to develop curriculum to help train others in working with ESOL populations. When considering her educational options for an advanced graduate degree, she decided to continue her studies in UNH’s Education Specialist graduate program in Educational Administration & Supervision (EDS). She has also participated in and helped develop curriculum for UNH’s Sustainability Institute Learning Collaborative.

Is an advanced degree in education right for you? Come to our next information session at the newly renovated Pandora Mill Building, 88 Commercial St, Manchester to learn more on Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00 pm. Register for this event at: http://gradschool.unh.edu/manchester/php/gsmc_reg.php or by calling (603) 641-4313.

For more information about all of the education graduate program opportunities offered at UNH, visit: http://cola.unh.edu/education.