Bohorquez, Margarita

By Nick Falgout

Name: Margarita Bohorquez
Subjects: Modern World History, ESOL English
Education: Bachelors' Degree in Political Science, JD Law, and Masters Degree in Education
Previous Jobs: Lawyer
Came to Blair: 1998
Hobbies: Reading swimming, seeing movies
Extracurricular Activities: International Club, International Show

Modern World and ESOL teacher Margarita Bohorquez is an easy-going, laid back kind of person. She sits at her desk smiling, decked out in a sweatshirt and jeans. However, she did not always want to be a teacher. "I was after fortune and fame [in college], so law became important, "Bohorquez said, chuckling. When Bohorquez was six, her role model was her grandmother, who was a teacher. From that point on, she knew she wanted to get into a profession where she could help people. However, once she became a lawyer, she realized that she was not achieving her goal to the fullest. "I found I could do more in education," she said, comparing her ability to help people in the two professions. "In law I was more often mending fences than actually helping people."

Originally, Bohorquez did not care what level of education she was going to teach. After substitute teaching for high school teachers she realized she would fit best in high school. "I just got along with older kids better," she said. Bohorquez had a little trouble with thinking of the most rewarding part of her job. "There are a lot. I would say, since I teach a lot of immigrant students, opening new horizons," she replied after several moments of thought.

Bohorquez said that being bilingual and the child of immigrant parents have helped her connect with her students on a "cultural level". When she came to Blair, Bohorquez knew she wanted to get into some kind of social studies because of her political science background. However, because of her immigrant background, Bohorquez was happy to end up in another department. "Luckily I landed in ESOL," she said.

Bohorquez engages in a number of leisure activities outside of school. She poked fun at her own choice of music, saying, "I listen to the 80's station. I guess that's old for you now but when I was young that was the thing." Bohorquez also enjoys suspense movies and novels, "like Stephen King," and playing with her dog, Cosmo, named for the Seinfeld character.

In parting, Bohorquez had one last thing to say. "The best advice I can give to people who want to be teachers is to really have passion, a passion to teach, to learn, a passion to open new horizons," she said.