Ivonne Pulido: “I put two and two together and thought ‘why not be an educator?’”
Ivonne Pulido once thought of becoming a neurologist because of regular visits to the doctor when she was 10 years old for a noncancerous cyst.
“It was just something that I needed to take care of,” said Pulido. “The doctors had to make sure it wasn’t interfering with my health or my vision.”
She was a junior at Avenal High School when she watched a video about career opportunities that posed the question: What are you good at, and what do you enjoy doing?
“So when I reflected on the question, I had some trouble figuring that out on my own,” said Pulido, who then asked family and friends for their thoughts.
“The response was that I was always very good at explaining things and deciphering things, breaking them down into smaller pieces and helping others understand it better,” said Pulido, who decided to become an educator.
Pulido graduated Friday with a bachelor’s in liberal studies and a 4.0 GPA from Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education.
She also earned the dean’s medal as the top undergraduate from her school.
Pulido’s first experience in education was as an after-school volunteer helping students with their homework and supervising recess activities.
“I really did enjoy my time helping students and seeing them progress,” she said. “I put two and two together and thought ‘why not be an educator?’”
Pulido decided to go into counseling because of her background as the oldest of three children born to parents who work in agriculture.
“My counselors thought it was a good idea considering my background being culturally diverse that would help me connect with students,” said Pulido.
Her education hasn’t been easy. She struggled through school because she didn’t understand the work, and her Spanish-speaking parents couldn’t help.
Her parents, though, enrolled her in preschool when she was 2.
“They have always encouraged me to continue my education,” she said. “They gave me the opportunity at an education because they didn’t have that chance growing up.”
Her father, Eduardo Pulido, reached high school; her mother, Gracia Zavala de Pulido only finished middle school “due to lack of resources.”
When Pulido decided to go to college, she got help from her uncle and his wife, both Fresno State graduates.
“They were very supportive,” said Pulido, an Avenal High valedictorian with a 4.52 GPA.
She earned her degree in three years, thanks in part to a dual enrollment program at Avenal High that allowed her to take college courses.
Pulido plans on a summer break before returning to Fresno State for its credential program.
“My goal is to finish my credential and then go into teaching,” she said. “But, I also want to get my master’s in either administration instruction or curriculum.”
She is also interested in Fresno State’s multicultural master’s program “where they instill social justice and education, pedagogies, and anti-racist learning.”
Pulido is taking three pre-med courses which will allow her to obtain a subject matter authorization that will allow her to teach math in middle school grades up through ninth grade.
She hopes to become a middle school math teacher.
At Fresno State, she was involved with the Educational Opportunity Program, and was an officer with the Fresno State California Teachers Association.
Ivonne Pulido
Honor: Kremen School of Education and Human Development undergraduate dean’s medalist
Family: Parents Eduardo Pulido and Gracia Zavala de Pulido, sister Jasmine and brother Pablo
Born: Hanford
Age: 21
High school: Avenal High School (2019)
Hobby: Studying, spending time with friends, reading
Music: “I like listening to a wide variety of music, but I really do listen to punk rock more.”
Food: Potato enchiladas