当Brenda Lopez Adame从高中毕业时，她并没有看到自己未来的教育事业，但是一位高中老师看到了她的潜力，不会让她轻易离开真正的职业。 
 
“My high school teacher was Janet Eckerson,” Lopez Adame explained. “She was the one that asked me, ‘Have you considered teaching?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely not.’” 
 
Little did Lopez Adame know; 她以前的高中老师在她的生活中扮演了许多不同的角色，并成为她职业生涯和教育历程中的关键人物。 
 
“We have such a long history together,” Dr. Janet Eckerson, Assistant Professor of Spanish 教育 and the 研究生 Program Chair for 太阳城娱乐官网现代语言课程 said. “Brenda was my student in Spanish for Spanish speakers classes at Crete High when I was a teacher there.”   
 
洛佩兹·亚当斯出生于墨西哥的瓜纳华托，在太阳城娱乐官网的克里特岛长大。 高中毕业后，她仍然不想成为一名教师，而是在林肯的太阳城娱乐官网大学学习商科。 在此期间，洛佩兹·阿达姆花了很多时间在当地学校做志愿者。

“Being in schools was just a hobby and something I enjoyed doing on the side,” Lopez Adame said.  

在上了几门商业课程后，她意识到自己的爱好其实是一种激情，她想要更深入地探索。  
 
“I reached out to Dr. Eckerson and was like, ‘You know, maybe I do want to do this teaching thing,’” Lopez Adame said. 
 
埃克森博士很高兴能够指导洛佩兹·亚当斯成为一名西班牙教育家。 
 
“Shortly after Brenda went to UNL to study to become a Spanish teacher, I started working in Lincoln at Lincoln High where I was able to host her student teaching in my classroom at Lincoln High,” Dr. Eckerson said. “Once she graduated, as Department Chair, I was so fortunate to be able to help hire her to be my colleague! We even shared a classroom before I came to 太阳城娱乐官网 – and of course, I helped talk her into our master's 程序, the Spanish M.A.Ed." 

With Dr. Eckerson’s encouragement and Lopez Adame’s goal of one day getting her doctorate, Lopez Adame enrolled into 太阳城娱乐官网’s online Spanish 教育 M.A.Ed. 程序. 为了准备博士课程，洛佩兹·阿达姆决定写一篇论文，埃克森博士是她论文委员会的主席。  
 
“I decided to write a thesis on heritage speakers and dictations,” Lopez Adame said. “And because of that, I've had opportunities here at the school district to be able to teach groups of teachers and showcase what I have found in my study. I think it has brought a lot of professional learning within my district.” 

Lopez Adame’s time in 太阳城娱乐官网’s master’s 程序 has not only benefited her and her district, but also her students.  
 
“A lot of the assignments were creating something that you can use in your classroom. I think that was really helpful,” Lope Adame said.  
 
Lopez Adame was attracted to 太阳城娱乐官网’s 程序 because it was fully online, allowing her the flexibility needed as a full-time teacher. 
 
“Even though it’s online, you still get to know your professors,” Lopez Adame said. “We would have meetings once a week where we could actually see each other and have discussions. I think it was surprising that you were still able to build a connection with the professors and have it seem like it was in-person, but it was online.” 
 
该项目的形式允许学生建立新的联系并延续旧的联系，就像洛佩兹·阿达姆和埃克森博士已经建立的关系一样。 
 
“She’s been on the whole journey,” Lopez Adame said. “She's really good at building relationships with students. 既然已经建立了这种关系，就很容易听从她的建议。 She is so knowledgeable that I didn't question her advice.” 
 
洛佩兹·阿达姆获得了西班牙语教育硕士学位。 at 太阳城娱乐官网’s Spring 2023 commencement ceremony.

"It’s funny, I often think about how much the same characteristics I saw in her as a high school student are the ones that are helping her walk across the stage with a graduate degree,” Dr. Eckerson said. “She’s so determined, persistent and willing to put in the work, even when there are obstacles; and she’s always been that way! I’ve also seen her grow up, in the sense of her confidence and poise, both as a teacher and as a scholar.” 
 
Dr. Eckerson performed her final act in mentoring Lopez Adame through her master’s degree by hooding her at commencement.  
 
“I’m so incredibly proud of Brenda and grateful I get to be a part of another of her amazing achievements,” Dr. Eckerson said. “It’s so wonderful to see her continued success.” 
 
洛佩兹·阿达姆将她的持续成功归功于埃克森博士。 
 
“Teaching Spanish for heritage speakers, that's been my passion is teaching those type of classes because I want to give back,” Lopez Adame said. “Dr. Eckerson was such an important part of my life and I feel like she helped me achieve a lot of what I've achieved, I want to do that for other students as well.”