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EdNC has three social media ambassadors for the 2024-25 school year. These ambassadors will be sharing their school experiences this year on various social media platforms. You can read their stories below and follow along with their updates by following us on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Paola De Avila, Lee County Schools
Driven by curiosity, Paola De Avila has always loved learning. Although working in the field of education wasn’t her original career plan, she is grateful to be the English as a Second Language (ESL) Department Head at Southern Lee High School. She is also the 2024-25 teacher of the year for Southern Lee High School.
De Avila believes in the power of education to transform lives. When she reflects on her own journey, education is a through-line of both inspiration and support.
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, De Avila immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old. Upon entering the school system, she was immediately put into ESL classes.
“I was never aware that I was in ESL. Like, yes, they would pull me out of class, but they would pull other kids out, so I didn’t think anything of it. They would test me, but they tested a lot of other kids. There was not a lot of difference in the treatment,” said De Avila.
De Avila’s early positive experiences at school, combined with having role models in her own family who had earned college degrees, solidified her goal of pursuing higher education.
“All of my aunts went to college, and they all had fulfilling careers. One is an accountant, and the other one is a fashion designer. So I had a lot of role models of people that went to college, and I knew that’s something that I needed to do,” she said.
Once De Avila was able to master both English and Spanish, her linguistic ability became a real strength for her and her family. It also helped guide her career aspirations.
When De Avila was in high school, her grandfather, who helped raise her, had a heart attack.
“I was his interpreter, and I got to see his surgery and everything because it was a university hospital,” said De Avila.
That experience inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. Specifically, De Avila dreamed of becoming a heart surgeon so she could help people like her grandfather. Unfortunately, due to her immigration status, some adults in her life didn’t see that dream as a possibility for her.
“I went back and sat with my guidance counselor, and I’m like, ‘Listen, I know this is what I want to do.’ She was writing down some things and then she said, ‘As an ESL student, I think you are overshooting your landing zone. You’re going too high. I think you should start with a medical information management certification,’” said De Avila.
De Avila trusted her counselor and decided to hold off on applying for a bachelor’s degree. She enrolled at a private university and earned her medical information management certification.
At the time, De Avila was working at a chiropractor’s office. She took her certificate to her boss there, expecting a raise given her newly earned credential. Her boss informed her that she could possibly earn a little bit more money, but that she would need an associate or bachelor’s degree to really see the growth she wanted.
“Everything just stopped and froze before me. … It was definitely a pivotal moment and that lady who was my boss became my mentor, and she was the one that told me to go to college,” she said.
Her mentor encouraged De Avila to enroll in community college and then transfer to a four-year school, which is exactly what she ended up doing. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in project management.
“Education is my plan A, my plan B, and my plan C. I think that I’m able to transform and morph and go into all this different stuff through education. College is not the only education, you can learn in multiple forms, and I never stepped down from that and I highly encourage that in my students,” said De Avila.
After a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry and then in banking, De Avila decided to take a job as a teaching assistant while she earned her master’s in project management. Six months into assisting, the teacher resigned from the job, and the principal told De Avila that he wanted her to take the job. She completed the lateral entry program at North Carolina State University and has been at Southern Lee High School since.
“My favorite part about being a teacher is when I see them succeed, when they come back and they want to tell me their story or how they have gained from their experience,” said De Avila.
You can follow De Avila’s updates here.
Jonathan Fuller, Piedmont Community College
For as long as Jonathan Fuller can remember, farming has been part of his life. Growing up in Caswell County, his family had a farm where they grew tobacco, and Fuller was out helping in the fields even as a child. The fondness associated with those memories serve as motivation for Fuller as he works towards earning a certificate in agribusiness from Piedmont Community College (PCC).
“Since I was, you know, three, four years old, I’ve been around the farm. I fell in love with the practice, the equipment, and the work,” said Fuller.
This isn’t Fuller’s first time as a student on Piedmont Community College’s campus. Back in 2000, he graduated from high school with a certificate in welding from PCC. In his teenage years, he was interested in learning about careers other than farming, as that is what he knew from his family’s business. For a few years after he graduated from high school, Fuller helped out with his family’s farm before they ultimately decided to sell it.
After that, Fuller took a job at the Department of Transportation in Person County, where he still works to this day. He was able to use some of his welding skills on the job, but after awhile he started to miss farming. Fuller started helping out with some local tobacco and grain farms to get back into farming.
“I’m big on farming, and it was hard to let that go when we stopped,” said Fuller.
After two decades, Fuller felt motivated to go back to school and continue his education. His inspiration came from his wife and kids, who are all in the midst of their own journeys with education.
As an adult learner, Fuller juggles many responsibilities between work, school, and home life. He’s a husband, father to five children, full-time employee, and now runs a farm of his own with his family. Fuller’s first step in gaining more knowledge about agribusiness was through a class he took with his wife offered through N.C. State University’s Cooperative Extension called the North Carolina Farm School.
“I try to make sure that I’m selling things that people enjoy, and when I started the produce farm, I said, ‘Okay, I gotta do something different, because if I’m gonna do this I want to make this really big for me and my family,’” he said.
This past summer, Fuller began classes at PCC in agribusiness. After enjoying the class, he decided to continue his education part time as he works towards a certificate in agribusiness. Fuller hopes his education will help him and his family grow their farm business.
“I just want to be able to gain knowledge, to know the finances of farming, the dos and don’ts of course, and be able to teach this to my children to leave a long-term legacy,” said Fuller.
You can follow Fuller’s updates here.
Deja Davis, Piedmont Community College
Deja Davis has a passion for the field of medicine. For the past few years, she’s worked full time at Duke Hospital as a certified nursing assistant. Davis’s aspirations to go further in her field have led her back to school. She’s now a first-year nursing student at Piedmont Community College.
“It’s such a good, healthy environment to be around…these people really become your family, the instructors. I mean, everything about PCC. I drive an hour for class, so it really is worth it. I’ve never been a part of such an organization like Piedmont, that you could just tell they care,” said Davis.
Davis grew up in Yadkin County but has lived in Greensboro since 2018. She moved to Greensboro six years ago to attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
During college, she chose the pre-med path to pursue her passion of working in medicine. In 2019, she was an intern for the cancer center at Duke Health. While there, Davis had the opportunity to shadow a surgical oncologist, which left a mark on her.
After observing Davis in the hospital setting, the surgeon suggested she use her nursing assistant license and work in the float pool at Duke Health. This allowed Davis to try different specialities depending on which department needed the most help. She enjoyed her work at the hospital, especially the work she was able to do in critical care medicine during the pandemic.
“I fell in love with emergency and critical care medicine during the pandemic and I just was like, ‘This is my calling.’ I don’t want to go to med school anymore. I just don’t think the (lack of) life balance would be worth it,” she said.
With her change of heart, Davis decided to take a break from pursuing her bachelor’s degree at UNCG and enrolled at a community college instead. For Davis, the ability to work full time while taking nursing classes at night coupled with the great reputation she’d heard about the school from friends solidified her decision to pursue her associate degree in nursing from Piedmont Community College.
“When you go back to school and you are a little bit older, I’m 24, and it’s just the environment of the classroom — we’re all kind of here for the same goal. No one’s here to play, you know, just the maturity levels are — it’s just such a safe place,” said Davis.
After graduating from Piedmont Community College, Davis wants to earn her bachelor’s of science in nursing to serve as a foundation for her career. Her choice to earn an associate degree has allowed her the flexibility to work full time while in school. Her choice to go on to earn a bachelor’s degree will allow her to work towards becoming a nurse practitioner or even hospital leadership, if that’s what she wants.
“My goal now is, I love trauma, that is my favorite specialty. So my goal is to get into the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center after I graduate. The University of Maryland is the only freestanding trauma hospital. They were the ones who invented the trauma assessment sheet, and they are known globally for their trauma specialty,” said Davis.
“I love being a student,” she said. “I love learning. I think, you know, we’re constantly evolving, and I’m never just satisfied where I’m at. I always want to learn and do the next thing, and so I think my favorite thing about being a student is quite literally education. … I love, love constantly filling my brain and learning and constantly surpassing my capacity.”
You can follow Davis’s updates here.
