Señora Ferrer: Back in Business

  Within the walls of PPCHS there exists hundreds of thousands of dreams and passions, not only of the students, but of the teachers especially. Having a job aligned with something you love means it’s not exactly work, and Mrs. Ferrer knows this firsthand.

   After eleven years of teaching Spanish classes here, Mrs. Ferrer decided to add another elective to the picture this school year, and it’s something she’s no stranger to: Marketing.

   When she was a student herself, she found great interest in the world of Business and Marketing, leading her to obtain degrees and pursue a career in the area. But this was put on indefinite hold when she unexpectedly found another passion of hers: teaching. One thing led to another and she ended up with consistent years of teaching Spanish, the only change really being switches between the Spanish levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. This year, however, Mrs. Ferrer found her way back to marketing.

   Excited to propose the idea to admin, her general thought process was quite simple: “Marketing is a passion of mine. My career is in Business and Marketing and why not share my knowledge and inspire students to pursue a career? Or teach those who are interested in a career in Marketing what I know?” With her plan welcomed and the opportunity to combine two of her passions, Mrs. Ferrer was able to hit the ground running from there.

   Today, students in her Marketing class learn all aspects of the field, from the basic principles of marketing to the little details. This includes learning about the promotion, advertising, pricing, and distribution of products and services. Like Mrs. Ferrer once did herself, her students are able to explore a potential career path in Business and Marketing by building a solid foundation of knowledge in her class

   With Mrs. Ferrer’s extensive expertise in both teaching and business, her marketing students can tell that she knows what she’s doing. Freshman Isabella Cuadros explains how “[She] like[s] how Mrs. Ferrer uses interactive teaching.” After learning a concept through the usual PowerPoints and notes, Mrs. Ferrer would bring in the fun with a scavenger hunt or other hands-on activities. Another one of her students, sophomore Sharmitha Suram, finds it useful how Señora Ferrer “makes [them] really act like marketers in order to really understand marketing.” By doing the same work a marketer would do, students gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

   While Mrs. Ferrer expresses that “From teaching marketing, [she] gain[s] the joy of sharing [her] knowledge and seeing [her] students blossom in topics they would not have an opportunity to otherwise,” she also hopes that they learn lessons applicable to the world outside of the classroom. Sharmitha has observed this herself, pointing out how “[Mrs. Ferrer] also pushes you to do better and makes you meet higher expectations.” Along with this push in the right direction, Mrs. Ferrer wants her students to learn to listen, establish relationships, and make connections.

   Though her career journey wasn’t straight and held surprises, Señora Ferrer was able to show passion and hard work through it all. With aims for her students to gain skills they can take anywhere they go, she continues to share her knowledge of the Spanish language, life in general, and especially business and marketing. As she says, “Marketing is so exciting and it is everywhere, so whether students are interested in pursuing a career in marketing or not, learning about it is an eye opener!”