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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

7 Things You Didn't Know About Dr. Rafaela Santa Cruz

7 Things You Didn't Know About Dr. Rafaela Santa Cruz
Do you like pad thai noodles? There’s someone in the College of Education that’s really good with a wok! Dr. Rafaela Santa Cruz loves to cook, is a world traveler, and can teach you a thing or two about paying for college. Learn more about the new Interim Director of the School of Teacher Education in this month’s 7 Things You Didn’t Know About the COE Faculty and Staff.

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1.
Rafaela is one of eight children
She has two older brothers, three younger sisters, and two younger brothers.

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2.
She enjoys sewing - a lost art
Rafaela once made her younger brother a three-piece polyester suit, like John Travolta’s in Saturday Night Fever.

3.
Rafaela s racquetball
Rafaela was a pretty good racquetball player.
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4.
Rafaela enjoys cooking
Her favorites are Mexican and Thai dishes.
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5.
$$$
Rafaela completed all three of her higher education degrees with scholarships and grants, needing no loans! Impressive!

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6.
The sound of music
Rafaela enjoys all types of music. Smokey Robinson, Vicente Fernandez, and Willie Nelson are her favorite artists.
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7.
Rafaela the globetrotter
She enjoys traveling for pleasure and has even taught in Mexico, El Salvador, the Federated State of Micronesia, and Palau!
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How Rafaela is making a difference in the College of Education:


“I am presently the Interim Director of the School of Teacher Education (STE) after being the Director of the SDSU/CGU Joint PhD Program in Education for 11 years. I love developing the statistical and research skills of PhD students and have served on over 50 dissertation committees. I enjoy working with teachers to help them learn how to make mathematics more accessible for emergent bilingual students. I am currently working with 90 teachers in Imperial County as part of a California Math Science Partnership grant. I am excited about serving as the interim director of the STE as we welcome the Liberal Studies major and prepare to implement newly adopted teacher performance expectations.”