Fresquez Goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
By Mari Luna
Pulse Staff Reporter
If you have Professor Margarita Fresquez for math, her door is always open for help.
"Ms. Fresquez has gone above and beyond to help me understand algebraic problems," said Cecilia Collins, a freshman undecided on her major and a student in Fresquez's algebra class.
"I have always loved math, and I try to teach that to my students," said Fresquez. Fresquez has always had a craving for math. When she was in second grade, she would help her teachers tutor her classmates. In the seventh grade, she was convinced that she wanted to become a math teacher. Coming from a family with four brothers and six sisters, her parents were very supportive and they encouraged all of their children to finish school and attend college.
Fresquez was one of the original ten instructors hired when Palo Alto College opened in 1985. Fresquez teaches developmental Math classes and Calculus classes. She has been teaching for more than thirty years. In those years, she has taught elementary to university students.
One year, Fresquez had the opportunity to be a visiting math professor at New Mexico State.
"She is a wonderful professor that takes time to explain the problems if you don't understand them," said Dawn Flores, a sophomore Math major and Calculus I student at Palo Alto.
"Ms. Fresquez has a lot of knowledge, and she tries to share it with us," said Flores. "She allows me to sit in her developmental classes so I can get a little more practice."
Over the years at Palo Alto, Fresquez not only has helped students, but she also has been a part of several committees here on campus. Since 1990, Fresquez has been the Site Director for TexPREP at Palo Alto. TexPREP is a Texas Pre- Engineering Program sponsored by the University of Texas at San Antonio for students from fifth to twelfth grades. The program is aimed to help students in courses like math, engineering and logic. The student must be recommended by their math teachers in order to qualify. TexPREP is offered to students from both private and public junior and high schools in the surrounding area.
Fresquez works one on one with student.
Photo by Jessica Flores
She has also been part of the District Calendar Committee since 1992. In 1991- 1992, Fresquez was the District Core Curriculum Committee Chairperson for college algebra.
Fresquez also does a lot of community work for Palo Alto. She serves on Promotions and Tenure, a committee that reviews the faculty members' dossiers. She is also on the Peer Review Committee and the Book Selection committee to preview books for the upcoming year.
This year, Fresquez was awarded the National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Teaching Excellence Award for Dedication and Persistence.
Fresquez has been nominated for the Starfish award twice, but has yet to win. The Starfish award is a way for students to honor professors they feel have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Only one professor is chosen for the award each year.
"I feel that a lot of the faculty here at Palo Alto go above and beyond to help out the students," said Fresquez. "That is why Palo Alto stands out from the rest."
Fresquez's other awards include: Faculty Excellence- Palo Alto in 1989, 1990 and 1991; The Piper Foundation- Teaching Excellence Award in 1987; Speakers Bureau- San Antonio I.S.D. in 1988, and Outstanding Woman in Career: Service Category- Express- News in 1988. Also, she was nominated for Woman of the Year-Mexican American Business and Professional Women in 1987.
"My students find me very demanding, but they also know that I am fair," said Fresquez. "If a student fails a test, I will allow them to re-test; however, they must re-work the problems they missed before I allow them to re-test.
Fresquez uses traditional teaching techniques, like the chalkboard. As the class progresses, students aren't only the only ones who learn. When new technology was available, like graphing calculators, she had to learn along with the students.
All of her classes have a routine they follow. Every day, the students come in and grade their homework for the first eight to ten minutes of class. Then Fresquez lectures for 10-15 minutes and allows the students to work on problems to make sure they understand them before they leave class.
Fresquez has one son from her first marriage. When he, Edward Carlos, was young, they would play math games to see who could finish solving the problem first. Eventually her son reached the point where he would finish the problem faster. Edward Carlos graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). "He adopted my love for math," said Fresquez.
Fresquez also offers tutoring before and after class. In addition she is available on Saturdays and between classes and during her conference hours. Although Saturdays are a little more difficult with her second wedding coming up on June 10, 2000, she still makes herself available to the students.
Fresquez met her fiancé, Bob Zacke, at senior bingo at Wal-Mart about two years ago. At first she did not want to get married, but he was able to win her over. Fresquez and Zacke have been engaged for a year and can't wait to tie the knot.
Many of Fresquez's students believe that she is easy to talk to, and they know that she will go out of her way to help them.
"Math can be fun, if you allow it," said Fresquez.