Ana Mercado of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has been chosen as the 2022 Dr. Sabrina Tuyay Memorial Fellow recipient. This fellowship acknowledges teacher candidates who have shown a commitment to providing thoughtful literacy and English language instruction to elementary-age and/or special education students.
Mercado is a Teacher Education Program Candidate pursuing a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a Masters of Education along with a Bilingual Authorization in Spanish. Mercado is a first-generation Mexican-American student who graduated in 2019 from UCSB with a BA in Chicanx Studies and a minor in Education. She discovered her love for teaching during her time at UCSB while working with toddlers in the University Children’s Center. Working with preschool-aged children sparked her curiosity about K-12 education, thus leading her to the Education minor at UCSB. After learning about the lack of representation as well as different inequities in public education, she knew this was a path she needed to pursue. After graduating, she solidified this passion while working as a substitute teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Upon completion of the program, Mercado aspires to return to her community and teach in a bilingual classroom where she can cultivate a culturally and linguistically inclusive community for her students. Her goal as an educator is for every student to feel that every aspect of themselves is seen, valued, and celebrated in her class.
For twelve years, until untimely her death in June 2005, Dr. Sabrina Tuyay taught the Literacy/Language Arts Methods and Procedures courses in the Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential Program at UCSB. In October 2004, Dr. Tuyay was honored as the first recipient of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching. In her acceptance speech, Tuyay spoke passionately about her beliefs. She said, “Students need teachers who are critical thinkers, risk takers, and leaders who are willing to push the boundaries and pursue the possibilities. They need educators who not only say that all students can learn, but who are willing to take the necessary steps to ensure that it happens every day.” Tuyay is recognized for her passionate dedication to ensuring that teachers become critical thinkers and risk takers, leaders who are willing to push boundaries so that all students can optimally learn to read and write and think.