Who are we?

2019 - 2020 BTSA Board

Susan Guilfoyle, Faculty Advisor

Since its induction, Susan Guilfoyle has been and currently is the faculty advisor for BTSA. She is a continuing lecturer for the School of Education, supervisor for MAT bilingual candidates and teaches several undergraduate/graduate level courses. In addition, she is the bilingual coordinator for the Bilingual Authorization, an additional certificate required to become a bilingual teacher. She works closely with the Spanish department and its new Spanish/English bilingual education minor. One of the undergraduate courses (EDUC101) she teaches is a required fieldwork course for the new minor. She was recently awarded the School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award for Inclusive Excellence.

She has two children who are attending dual immersion (Spanish) programs; one is in 7th grade and the other is in 11th grade. They are both excelling in their studies and are biliterate. During her free time, she can be found at Disneyland with her kids or cooking a healthy plant based dinner at home.

Alejandra Grande, BTSA President

Hello! My name is Alejandra Grande, I am a fourth year Education Sciences major and Spanish double major with a minor in Bilingual Education. I have been a part of BTSA since my first year at UCI and I am pursuing a career as a Bilingual Teacher. Along with my involvement in this organization, I work at one of the UCI Children's Centers and I am the executive site supervisor for Global Connect at UCI, where interns and I go into a Spanish-English dual immersion high school freshmen class and we teach the Global Studies class in Spanish once a week. I also volunteer at Gates Elementary, a dual immersion school, in a first grade class, with a UCI Alumni Elisa Garcia. I am also an Spanish tutor for Upward Bound, a college and career readiness program in three Anaheim high schools. As an aspiring Bilingual teacher, Spanish was my first language and I speak it at home with my family. I am locally from Anaheim, California, and my parents are from Guanajuato, Mexico and Guerrero, Mexico. I have enjoyed working with students from preschool to high school age. I look forward to work with all of you and excited to continue pursuing a career as a bilingual teacher.

Alondra Perez, Secretary

Hello/Hola! My name is Alondra Perez. I am a third year double majoring in Education and Spanish with a minor in bilingual education. In the future I aspire to become a Spanish dual immersion teacher in an elementary school aiming to help students become biliterate and comfortable with speaking two different languages. As for my hobbies and interests I love dancing ballet folklorico, enjoy having karaoke sessions, and spending time with my family and friends. Fun fact: my favorite TV show is The Office and I feel as if I could never get tired of it!

Alan Resendiz-Delacruz ,Treasurer

Hey! My name is Alan Resendiz-Delacruz and I’m Treasurer for BTSA. I have been here with the club since my second year here at UCI. Now I’m a fourth year, double Major in Education and Spanish with a minor in Bilingual Education. I never saw myself as an educator, actually I came into UCI as a biomedical engineer but that wasn’t for me. Instead after taking a couple of education classes and working with young kids I knew this is what I wanted to do. Not only that but using my knowledge of two languages to teach is something I enjoyed doing and it is something I get to do as a site supervisor for Global Connect. Where I and a group of interns get to teach global studies to middle school students once a week in Spanish. The topics include things such as terrorism, cyber security, global challenges like poverty, etc. There is definitely a need for bilingual teachers and an even bigger need to know two languages now in the world we live in. I grew up speaking Spanish at home with my parents. I’m originally from Querétaro, México but I’ve spent almost all of my life in Anaheim, California. There is a lot of things that I am unsure of but something I do know is that I want to become a bilingual teacher. And we are here to show you how to become one too.

Brenda Morales, Public Relations

My name is Brenda Morales and I am a fourth year at the University of California, Irvine. I am majoring in Education Sciences and Spanish with a minor in English/Spanish Bilingual Education. I love learning about languages and love traveling. My favorite food is pizza and favorite color is gold. My career goal is to become an elementary Bilingual teacher and a Spanish High School teacher. In addition, I would also love to be a Spanish interpreter in courts or international business interpreter to help people understand English.

Markus Hernandez, Campus Liaison

Hola! My name is Markus Hernandez and I am in my last year at UCI. I came in as a transfer student and am a double major in Biological Sciences and Education Sciences with a minor in Bilingual Education. I am on path to work in the high school setting where I would like to be a biology teacher and soccer coach. The world of bilingual education is fairly new to me but resonates tremendously with who I feel I am as a person. I am the clubs Liaison and I feel strongly in the idea that the more languages people know, it only helps to connect them and open new doors of opportunities. I am involved with the school’s club soccer team as well and love staying active cycling everywhere on campus. I look forward to connecting with more students at UCI and other organizations that have a passion for educating our future!