Today we’d like to introduce you to Tisha Poncio.
Hi Tisha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a former classroom teacher of 21 years who recently transitioned into a job in educational technology, but that is only part of my story. I’m the first person in my family to get 2 college degrees. I’m a childhood cancer mom who walked beside my son as he overcame leukemia. I’m an adoptee who is still piecing together the history of a family I never knew. So many experiences have shaped who I am today and taught me that nothing is truly impossible.
I became a teacher because of a teacher who believed in me and mentored me to overcome the circumstances of addiction in my family. And because knowledge of technology has always come very easy to me, the two seemed to go hand-in-hand when choosing my degree plan. In 2017, after losing both of my parents during my son’s 3 ½ years of chemo treatments and after those treatments were finally over, I decided to go back to school. Exactly 20 years after earning my Bachelor’s Degree, I walked the stage of the University of North Texas to receive my Master’s Degree in Learning Technologies with all 3 of my kids in the audience cheering.
My story has always had a sliver of overcoming obstacles running through it. Perseverance and the belief that nothing is impossible is the reason I am where I am today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has most certainly not been a smooth road. Some days were smoother than others. I was not necessarily what people would deem a “top student” and so I initially struggled to find my footing during my undergraduate studies. During my master’s, I was working a full-time job and being a wife and mom all simultaneously. I gave up a lot of sleep and family time to push through. We juggled full-time jobs and parenting during our childhood cancer years while also spending many days and months in the hospital believing our son would grow to be a healthy and happy adult. In addition, we grieved over the loss of both of my parents and the expectations we had of our children’s childhoods being “normal.” I will say, though, that it is BECAUSE of the struggles that I learned even when it feels like you should and want to give up, press forward, and keep going until you find yourself on the other side of it. Step by step, little by little is how we can overcome what seems impossible.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Today, I am the Digital Learning Specialist for Wakelet. Wakelet takes anything from the web (hyperlinks, images, podcasts, videos, documents, PDFs, content creation) and organizes it into beautiful collections or microsites to share in a single link. Wakelet is free for anyone to use, including educators. Educators around the world have discovered thousands of uses for it to support them in their learning spaces and with their students including but not limited to lesson plans, newsletters, collaborative projects, and presentations, showcasing student work and storytelling. I have the honor of working with our educators and their school districts to support their implementation of Wakelet into their learning standards and to support school or district initiatives like digital learning portfolios or digital citizenship.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
You can check out Wakelet at www.wakelet.com. Sign up for a free account and search for a few topics important to you, start creating collections of your own or if you’d like to see how professional organizations are using Wakelet, let me know so we can connect for a discovery call!
If you’re an educator or school, please reach out and let me know how best to connect! I’m happy to schedule a 30-minute discovery call or if you’re local I’d love to meet with you to discuss how Wakelet and I can support you and your school communities. There are many opportunities for educators to collaborate with us as we host webinars (YouTube), and podcasts (iTunes/Spotify), sponsor and attend local and national conferences, and connect with our community regularly (Twitter).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wakelet.com/@tishaponcio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tishaponcio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TxTechChick
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/wakelet
Image Credits
Jessica Cernat Photography
