If you walk through the halls of Chardón you will most likely run into one of the cheeriest faces within our English Department: Edcel Javier Cintrón González. A fellow colleague of mine from the Master of Arts in English Education program, Edcel defines himself as a “very busy person.” Currently being the Graduate Representative of the English Department, he has been working as an English instructor for the past three years, teaching reading and composition (INGL 3201 and 3202). He has also taught in administration, courses like conversational english for business and also the EXADEP Prep Exam, which is a graduate exam for aspiring law and business students, or related fields, in order to be admitted to their respective programs.
Edcel also had the chance to teach technical writing and communication with Dr. Rosita Rivera one summer, which demonstrates he has taught in different fields as well. Besides being an instructor, Edcel is also the president of the Professional Graduate Honor Society, secretary of RUMEGA (Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez English Graduate Association), part of the group of editors for Her Campus, and the first Graduate Writing Facilitator to be chosen from the English Department to work at the Graduate Research Innovation Center (GRIC), which is a research center where most of the population are graduate students, researchers, and faculty from the STEM field.
Looking back at his first semester as a graduate teaching assistant, Edcel sees himself as a different person in his sixth semester than when he first started. As an undergrad, Edcel was involved in various positions and projects such as president of the Future Teachers Association and an English Writing Center peer tutor. As Edcel was completing his bachelor’s degree, he had never taught college-level courses, but was learning to balance his studies with his extracurricular activities.
“Being a graduate student is different, because when working as a graduate teaching assistant, you add your students as part of your priorities, and it is important to consider their needs, because they are paying for their educational services, and you become part of their academic development, preparing them to become efficient academic writers and speakers,” reflected Edcel as he looked upon his different facets in college and academia. He considers his professional and academic growth would not have been effective without feedback received by his professors. “It has been a collaborating process, which has been achieved by conversing with peers, faculty, my thesis advisor Dr. Rosa Roman, and practically enjoying the experience as a whole.”
As a graduate student, Edcel expresses that “conferences provide spaces to demonstrate your areas of research to other scholars locally and internationally. Conference presentations have helped him improve essential skills, such as public speaking. Edcel commented that he got accepted in a total of ten local and international conferences; due to illness and career opportunities, and other unexpected events, he had managed to present in seven of these conferences. He has presented for various organizations, including the Popular Culture Association in Seattle, WA, the American Culture Association at San Diego, CA, PRTESOL, College English Association, and conferences throughout the University as well. As he experienced these opportunities, Edcel has met different people, presented innovative ideas, and has had the chance to experience himself as an outcome of all courses taken as a student. He also learned to develop awareness on how to present these ideas, for they might contain both positive and negative impact on research.
Regarding his field, Edcel loves to explore different areas of interest, although most of his studies are literature-based. Most of his conferences were literature-based, where he tackled the field of animal and sea literature. Many of his topics include reading literacy, and how reading culture provides positive impact in the classroom. “Children’s literature is my favorite field because it is very diverse, not to mention that it is a very popular and highly competitive field of study. Many scholars are basing their research on children’s literature and it is producing positive impact in academia,” he expressed.
Edcel is happy to say that he has recently gotten accepted in a doctoral program on English Studies at Illinois State University (ISU), where he will be focusing on children’s literature and possibly obtain a graduate certificate in women and gender studies, which he is excited for as well. This opportunity will give him the chance to dabble more thoroughly in the field, where he will receive more training to continue expanding his interests in children’s literature.
As the graduate representative for the English Department, Edcel advices incoming graduate students to have an open mind when starting graduate school. “When you focus on academia, it is important to focus on your future as a rising scholar, which goes beyond classrooms, fellowships, internships, conference presentations, and publications. These also play a big part when developing yourself as a professional. Even if you start on small magazines or book reviews, they will begin opening doors for you. Maybe you want to save yourself from headaches or stressful situations, but don’t be afraid to go for it. As my advisor says, you only get one chance in a lifetime to do these things, so you might as well do them. The worse feeling one can get is to pass an opportunity and later regret it.”
“Even though you might think that people have good intentions to give you advice, some might not understand what you want to do in the future. It is important to believe that you will produce something valuable in the future, and that no matter much oppression you might receive from people, from the good conscience of advice, as long as you believe that your degree, dreams, values, and goals will take you somewhere, that will be enough,” he remarked.
As a graduate teaching assistant, Edcel advices to maintain a balance in developing student-teacher relationships. “Yes, teaching is a demanding job, but teaching with passion becomes more rewarding,” he mentioned. Edcel indicated that he teaches 7:30 a.m. sections, which makes him the first instructor students see during the day. He reflected on the importance to “consider ways to motivate them during those minutes of class, so students can receive positive impact from you, and remember you as a good professor who cares for students’ interests, one they can look up to as an inspiration.”
Edcel has been president twice for two different associations, which he regards as a “demanding leadership role, but if you are chosen to hold such position, it means that people really depend on you and really admire not only your abilities, but also value your opinions as the person who holds that organization together. But, reflecting from past experiences, communication would be key for all associations, because even though at the end, you are the one who has to make final decisions, but teamwork is key to hold strong associations.” Going back as president of Professional Graduate Honor Society, the former president saw him as the person to keep the position going. He also reflects it in future graduate students who will be interested in holding such position and keep going to these activities.
As graduate facilitator, Edcel’s biggest advice would be to “not limit yourself to just one area,” but to be versatile. “Being good in a lot of things means that I can move myself in different fields or in different aspects of my own field. Being a graduate facilitator, for example, at first I was a bit worried to read aspects outside my field, such as reading articles from STEM fields, from which at first, he considered as completely unrelated to his field of interest. Now that, even with my expertise in English, I could also play a crucial part in their fields as well, for instance, making sure their research and presentations in conferences are understandable.”
“What I learn, I don’t keep it for myself,” Edcel explains that many students they receive are international students, which means that “with my expertise in English Education, I could apply what I have learned in my program to help them achieve academic success as well.” As long as students are willing to put effort in themselves, thanks to Edcel’s teaching philosophy, they need that little extra push to move forward.
When he is not very busy, Edcel enjoys playing “softcore” videogames, as well as gaming with his friends. He also enjoys reading in his leisure time, playing outdoor activities, and spending time with his friends and family. Practically anything to keep himself both mentally and physically busy. If you ever need help, you can always count on Edcel to lend you a hand.
As a final remark, “I would like to thank everyone who has motivated, inspired, and believed in me through my journey. All of you have played an important role in my personal and academic life.”