Sylvia Stubbs has been teaching Spanish at New Life Academy for 16 years. Her classroom ceiling is covered with beautiful, colorful murals painted by students. Murals are an important part of Spanish culture, and this project allows students to express creativity while sharing their own experiences. Sylvia enjoys being able to take students out of their own lives and show them another culture.
Recently, she went to Cabo, Mexico with the juniors at New Life. While in Cabo, these students were able to experience firsthand what they learn every day in class while serving the local community. “These students typically don’t think they can do it,” said Sylvia. “But with a little encouragement, they get to see that they can speak and understand another language, and it’s actually applicable in real life.”
Sylvia gets to know her students inside and outside of the classroom. Attending sports games, plays and recitals is just one way that she supports her students and shows that she’s invested in their lives. Pouring into students, Sylvia will often meet with alumni for coffee and still gets invited to their events. Her daughter Ninfa attended New Life and graduated in 2015. Sylvia loves being a part of the New Life community and enjoys that everyone feels like family. To her, the most important part of teaching at New Life is building relationships and bringing Jesus to her students.
