A Different Plan

By Suhkpreet Saiani

Life can take us different paths. Sometimes we can control the path we take, while other times we end up doing something we never would’ve planned on doing.

For Rosemarie Calma, her past played an important role to what she does today. 

Dr. Calma didn’t always want to be a teacher. She actually had a few other careers she wanted to pursue. One of her top choices was becoming a doctor, but her parents were unable to afford sending her to a medical school.

Calma: It was actually my dream, not to be a teacher, but I wanted to be a medical doctor. But because I came from a poor family, my parents could not afford to send me to a medical school. So I might as well come up with a degree that’s more or less related, so I ended up as a teacher in biology.

 She was able to get her masters and PHD, and although she’s not a medical doctor, she loves what she does and always comes to school with a smile on her face.

Another job she considered was working in an office. Dr. Calma likes jobs that allow you to meet and interact with different kinds of people.

Calma: I wanted to be in an office where I can interview people you know, like for example, like government offices or something. I want to interact with different kinds of people.

Some of Dr. Calma’s most enjoyable moments in life actually happened during her school life. She had fun with her friends while also doing well keeping up with her studies. College for her was very enjoyable since she was such a good student.

Calma: College for me was, I think, the most enjoyable years of my life. It’s not really very challenging because I had friends with me and I joined extracurricular activities and I sang at a club at the same time. 

Dr. Calma hasn’t always lived here in California. She’s actually from the Philippines and first moved to Texas. She then decided to move from Texas to California. 

Calma: I came from the Philippines so I’m a Filipina. I was here in 2016, and I started in Texas. I came from Texas, it’s very warm there and my family is in California, so I decided to go up north.

Dr. Calma loves many things about teaching. One of the best things about teaching for her is seeing her former students again all grown up. She’s always proud when her former students tell her about their new experiences and jobs.

Calma: The best part of being a teacher is meeting your students again after so many years and then they are successful. Of course when they are students, you can’t really tell what they will become when they become adults. But when you get acquainted with them again after several years you'll be so surprised, like “oh I’m a doctor now, I’m a lawyer now,” so that for us is very rewarding.

Being a teacher, it is inevitable that you create many memories. Dr. Calma has made many good memories here at YB, but her favorite is a heartwarming one. Dr. Calma and her students once joined a science fair not expecting much from it. But to their surprise, they walked out with awards and certificates. 

Calma: Favorite memories about teaching here, there’s a lot. I think the one that I love the most is when we joined the science fair and I didn’t expect my students to be winning. We just presented in a science fair and we didn’t expect to win, but we came home with certificates and awards. 

Learning never stops, even when you’re a teacher. Dr. Calma learns new things every day. Even though she’s been teaching for almost more than 30 years, she learns new and unique things from her students,

Calma: I feel like I’m still learning a lot. This is almost my more than 30 years of teaching, but everyday is a day of learning for me. I learn new things, I learn culture, I learn how to deal with kids, how to help them, how to make them successful in the future. Being a teacher, you don’t stop learning. Being a teacher is a lifelong process, you learn at the same time. 

Dr. Calma loves her job as a teacher and enjoys teaching students. She’s happy with what she does and makes new memories here every day.