Posted on December 6, 2024 by Katelyn Juarez
Fall 2024 Commencement Profile
Karla Reyna
As Karla Reyna prepares to don her cap and gown and walk across the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Bilingual Education, she reflects on what led her to this milestone. As a first-generation Mexican American, Reyna’s path to becoming a bilingual educator has been shaped by her own educational experiences and a passion for teaching.
“It was my teachers – as corny as that sounds – but specifically, it was my first grade teacher, Ms. Benavidez,” Reyna shared. “She had a very welcoming classroom environment, and I feel that she really helped me make the transition into school.”
Reyna’s mother, who immigrated to the United State at the age of 13, played a significant role in her upbringing. “My mom didn’t work when I was little, she stayed home with me, and that was definitely a rough patch of me wanting to stay at home with her,” Reyna said. “But Ms. Benavidez made me want to go to school.”
Over time Reyna’s passion for teaching grew, “I’ve always loved teaching,” said Reyna. “I would make my cousins play school with me, and I would be the teacher. I love to teach, so I thought, why not make a career out of it and give back in the same way that my teacher did for me?”
While at UTSA, Reyna has been an active member of the Bilingual Education Student Organization (BESO), a community for bilingual educators. After joining BESO in the fall of 2020, Reyna quickly took on leadership roles, serving as parliamentarian, vice president, and now president. Her involvement in BESO has not only provided her with a supportive community but has also helped her develop valuable leadership skills, “BESO helped me gain confidence in myself and I have made it a goal of mine to reach out to as many future bilingual teachers and give them the help that I needed,” said Reyna.
In addition to her work with BESO, Reyna is currently completing a paid clinical teacher residency at Oak Crest Elementary, where she teaches first grade in a dual language classroom. This unique opportunity has allowed her to immerse herself in the teaching profession while still being a student.
“The paid residency has definitely helped,” said Reyna. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to have a job due to the required number of hours and days we need to be at the school. Since we are paid employees of the district, there’s also more responsibility on us, and I feel that has helped me immerse myself more than I would have if I weren’t in the paid residency.”
— Katelyn Juarez
