Alumni Spotlight: Darina Herrera
Doulos Impacts.
We believe this statement rings true of the students who graduate from our school and continue their education—wherever they go. The best way we can demonstrate the merit of this statement is through the lives of our alumni and their post-graduation stories. We wanted to share the stories of some of these graduates to understand the enduring influence Doulos has had on their lives as well as the difference they plan to make for their country.
Darina Herrera is a 2015 Doulos graduate and a second-year student at Cedarville University in Ohio. Darina is one of our alumni who is applying the tools she learned at Doulos to change lives and impact her home country. She is currently studying Special Education and Specialist Intervention because of the huge need she saw in Jarabacoa, She is extremely excited to come back to the Dominican Republic and help bridge this gap.
When asked how Doulos prepared her for life outside of high school, she noted that expeditionary learning trains students to think as explorers and to see the adventure aspect of learning. “It is such a positive way of living, if you face your challenges with that mindset” said Darina. She also noted that thinking this way helped her transition moving to another country away from the familiarity of the Dominican Republic.
Darina had the opportunity to work as a PreK3 assistant for a year after graduation. This experience widened her eyes to see the work that goes on behind the scenes and outside of the classroom. “I watched how much work and thought is put into the lessons, I overlooked this as a student. I also noticed how much the teachers cared for the students individually and as a class.” This experience made her appreciate the teachers she had and the care they placed on providing a quality education for Darina and her peers.
Darina’s family would not have otherwise been able to afford a high quality education for their five children and are a great example of the kind of family that Doulos empowers through sponsorship. When talking about sponsorship, she noted, “You may be sponsoring only one kid but you will be impacting more lives than that.” We also believe Darina will be impacting the lives of the Dominican Republic through special education for years to come!
