Ms. Moroyoqui is a dedicated teacher who is currently in her 9th year at Patriot. She leads her students on projects and events that bring our school together. She, along with her students, plan fun and meaningful activities for our entire campus. These events allow students to bond and spend time with our friends, and even staff. These events add to our school spirit.
“I think that school is much more about the student than it is about the curriculum we teach.” - Ms. Moroyoqui
Connecting on a Deeper Level
Since the second grade, Ms. Moroyoqui wanted to be a teacher. But it was while doing her student teaching that she realized she enjoyed the connection with high school students the most. She felt like she could connect with kids at a deeper level, not just on the curriculum, but a deeper level of understanding of life. She began her teaching career by being an English teacher. Then she taught AP Psychology, which she really loved to teach.
On her teaching philosophy, she says, “I think that school is much more about the student than it is about the curriculum we teach.”
She talks of classes having specific standards teachers have to teach, and different tasks they have to complete, but she thinks that getting to know the student is a lot more important. In her experience as a teacher she knows that if a student is struggling with anything at home or in their personal life, school at times won’t matter to them, so she believes that it's really important to build relationships first.
ASB, Yearbook, and Senior Advisor
She describes the ASB Advisor position as “falling on her lap”, and she is so happy it did. That position was followed by becoming the Yearbook Advisor, and as she puts it, “I love it and I wouldn't do anything else because student activities are all about bringing the community together.”
As the ASB Advisor, she leads many students to organize, help put together, and lead events on our campus. Some of the events they put on for our school are rallies, dances, prom, spirit weeks, and students work hard to make all the posters and decorations that are needed for each event.
For example, students Natalia Gamez, Sofia Castillo, and Kassandra Gonzalez were involved in making Senior Night special for the Girls Flag Football Team by helping to decorate that event. Other students in her class like Izabella Aguilar, Sophia Buenrrostro, Liliana Granillo, and Celeste Rico bring smiles to staff with The Treat Trolley, which provides treats and drinks for all teachers on campus. Aubrey Miranda, a dedicated ASB student, takes time to create all senior posters. These students reflect the hard work it takes to be part of ASB.
Additionally, Ms. Moroyoqui, as the Yearbook Advisor, captures all of these events (plus more) in photos that end up summing up a year at Patriot High School. She also coordinates our Week of Welcome, which helps the school bond on the first week of school.
Lastly, she is the Senior Class Advisor, which she really enjoys as well because she gets to stay connected with her ASB students when they become seniors. The yearbook is always dedicated towards seniors, so that’s really special to her. There are many students that she has stayed in contact with. But it's always hard when they graduate, she says.
All of the positions she holds represent groups that connect the culture of our campus. She, along with her dedicated students, work very hard to unite our student body through all the events they put together.
Connections and Celebrations
Ms. Moroyoqui shares that one of the coolest things she sees in her students is the ability to be independent and get things done. She believes that even if she is not there, the students would do all the tasks 100% correctly. Her students are highly motivated and organized from start to finish, and she really celebrates that. Their ultimate goal is to connect our campus.
“For Yearbook and ASB, we celebrate big milestones, because both of these classes are very task driven and event driven and they require hard deadlines.”
Another celebration is seeing ASB as a program, and our yearbook coming back to life after COVID. She feels like it took awhile to rebuild itself and now, they are finally back to doing what they used to produce.
“We have finally started to set the standard high again for our yearbook and for our events. We are moving forward and producing quality again.”
This to her is a good celebration and motivator to continue to work hard and find dedicated students.
A Concerning Issue on Campus
“I notice a growing issue of unkindness on campus. Maybe it's due to social media and the use of all of our phones, but I feel like students are becoming more desensitized to being compassionate and accepting of other students.”
Ms. Moroyoqui shares that she hears a lot of negativity towards others or derogatory terms that we shouldn't really be using. Her part in battling this issue is to set a high standard in her classes. For example, there's no gossiping and or cursing in her class. She tries to create that positive culture in her room so that later on students can perhaps be able to battle the negativity they may hear outside of her classroom.
Pieces of Advice
The advice that she has for students?
“I would definitely say that high school is just the beginning. Life after high school can sound really daunting, and the unknown can feel like you need to make the decision right now. But just from experience, that's really not the case. And so I would say, run with what you're passionate about and explore different options, different fields, and just see where it takes you.”
She firmly believes in picking a career that makes you happy versus one that makes you a lot of money because it'll take you a lot farther.
Also she shares that she does zero work at home so that when she is home, she is fully present for her family. So at work she goes 100% fully dedicated to whatever she is doing and that helps a lot.
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