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Christina Medina is a faithful alumna of the BUENO Center! She is a graduate of three scholarship programs, including CAMP, Career Ladder, and an Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity Master of Arts Cohort Program.

She grew up in Fort Lupton, Colorado, with her parents and two siblings. Christina is the daughter of Mexican immigrants from Chihuahua, Mexico, and the family visited Chihuahua each summer to stay connected to their family, cultural roots, and home language. While growing up, there were many times Christina did not feel accepted for who she was in the traditional school setting—being bilingual and staying close to her native culture-inspired Christina to become an educator. She wanted to connect to students and families with a similar upbringing and make their school experiences positive.

The BUENO Center’s College Assistance Migrant Program at Aims Community College recruited Christina in 2004 after graduating from Fort Lupton High School. Subsequently, she was accepted to the BUENO Center’s Career Ladder Program, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Bilingual/Bicultural Education in 2007 from the University of Northern Colorado. In 2009, Christina began her Master of Arts at the �鶹ӰԺ and graduated with the Brighton Cohort in 2011.

Christina began her teaching career in the Denver Public Schools (DPS) in 2008. She has continued to work in three different DPS schools as an elementary classroom teacher and English Language Development (ELD) teacher serving grades kindergarten through 5^th. In 2009-2012, she served on the Colorado Association for Bilingual Education (CO-CABE) Board of Directors as Secretary. In 2015, Christina was recognized with the Bilingual Teacher of the Year award by CO-CABE. Additionally, she was recognized during Teacher Appreciation Night by the �鶹ӰԺ School of Education in 2019. Christina has also served as Secretary and Vice President of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA). Currently, she teaches second-grade ELA-S at McGlone Academy.

Christina was the first in her family to graduate from college, and she states that she never imagined her life as it is now. She attributes her success and desire to push for systematic changes in public education to her family’s encouragement and support from the BUENO Center. She credits the BUENO Center with providing her the opportunity to positively impact her students and demonstrate to them that they not only belong but are valued.

“As my CAMP Director, Tammy Molinar-LeBlanc is someone who particularly has positively impacted my life for 17 years! She helped guide me through unknown paths and provided support in each educational endeavor I have pursued. To this day, I continue to count on her for honest and sincere mentorship.”

A priority Christina has for her students is for them to learn about the roles and responsibilities we each have in society and how they, too, can and need to constructively influence racial, social, and environmental justice issues. This year, some of the topics her students have studied include the Black Lives Matter Movement, climate change, and U.S. immigration.

“I am one of the luckiest people in the world! Every day I get to show up and work with amazing children who share their ideas and passions with me. I help guide them to further develop these ideas and passions and into our future leaders.”

The BUENO Center is fortunate to count Christina among our alumni and proud of her work as a teacher and educational leader, which we know will undoubtedly result in a better world.