Tina Gordon is a senior here at Triton High school. She has big plans for herself that she is starting to put in motion as her graduation date in June is approaching.

“All my life I saw myself going into nursing because I love to help people. But as I’ve grown up the past year I realized a even bigger love I have is for children and all I want to do is help them become wiser, more positive, and the best people they can be” Gordon says.

Gordon’s dream is to be a teacher working with younger children in primary education and to prepare herself for that she will be traveling to Fiji this summer for two weeks and will be teaching and helping less fortunate children who don’t have the money to learn like we do.

Gordon has always been passionate about children and that’s why she wants to be a teacher. She grew up as the youngest of five girls, and her two older sisters have kids of their own that Gordon loves spending time with.

“My two nieces Nevaeh and Vienna are my world” said Gordon. I babysit them usually on the weekends and I love teaching them about new things and bringing them to places that they’ve never been before.”

Gordon says her nieces really have made her realize the career she wants for herself because she loves being with them so much and other kids as well. She says it’s a great thing to see children’s minds develop as they become more knowledgeable.

“I want to be apart of that development and help them get there” she explains.

Gordon came across a really great opportunity last week that will allow her to explore the teaching world hands on with younger kids. The opportunity is a volunteer program from Ecotours. The volunteers will be traveling to the Dawasamu Island of Fiji. Education is one of the most fundamental and crucial ways to make an impact on a struggling community and this program lets teenage volunteers like Gordon share their education with struggling children from the Island.

Gordon says “ I am so excited to stay there for a short time and teach these kids about the English language and help them understand different things that they can’t learn because of the way Fiji’s school systems are” The Fijians education is very poor. There is only 400 schools including primary, secondary and higher education schools. The structure differs between rural areas and towns and the lower class areas don’t get the same teaching and learning experiences that the wealthy get.

The Ecotour program aims to give the people of Fiji the tools to create a sustainable and rewarding life for themselves and their community on their island and Gordon is lucky enough to be apart of that. Gordon says “It is going to be an amazing experience for me and I think it will give me a glimpse at what teaching is really like and how I will be at it .”