Teachers have spent half of their life dedicated to teaching students, but will there be a time where they put a stop in their teaching career and retire? Teachers like Juventina Sloter, a passionate Spanish teacher, who has devoted her life to teaching her students about her culture.

“This is my 31st year of teaching at South and my 35th year overall. For my first four years I taught at OPS and the rest I taught here at South,” Sloter said.

Sloter’s entrance to the education world was more than a career to her. It was her passion. With an infectious enthusiasm for the Spanish language and culture, she ignited a spark in her students, not just an understanding of grammar and vocabulary, but an appreciation for the Hispanic heritage.

We all have a reason for choosing what we do as a career. Sloter said she chooses to be a teacher because she loves teaching teenagers and loves it even more teaching her culture. She decides to teach Spanish because she is Mexican and has lived all her teenage years living in Mexico.

“I think that learning about people different from you is good,” Sloter said.

If  Sloter didn’t follow her path of teaching, her intake of desire to make a difference to make a difference in people’s lives would undoubtedly lead her towards a profession of teaching on helping others.

Sloter’s mind is stuck on teaching so if she wasn’t a Spanish teacher she would be a social studies teacher instead. While working as a teacher, she had built up some memories of her teaching. Among her best memories, one stands out the most.

“My best memory is when all my students are super nice to each other and my worst memory is when I get cussed out by a student,” she said.

Sloter explained that the decision to retire wasn’t an abrupt one. Instead was a culmination of moments, a realization like it was all just falling into place.