Hillview Middle School Science teacher, Christopher Mendoza ’03, was named the 2013-2014 East Whittier City School District Teacher of the Year. Christopher joined the dedicated Hillview staff in 2010 after teaching at East Whittier Middle School for two years.
Christopher’s path towards becoming an educator started in 2000 when he became an instructional assistant at Evergreen Elementary School during his freshman year at Whittier College. Planning to be a medical doctor, Christopher majored in biology at Whittier while taking pre-med classes in physics, chemistry, and calculus.
After graduating in 2003, Christopher began working as a substitute teacher and as an emergency medical technician. This dichotomy between working in education versus the medical field had consumed his thoughts for years. While requesting a letter of recommendation to apply for medical school, his biology professor was convinced that Christopher was more passionate about education than the medical field and shared this with him. Upon leaving his professor’s office, Christopher made the decision to commit his efforts towards becoming an educator by enrolling in the Whittier College teaching credential program. In 2008, Christopher was hired full time to teach science in the district.
Read more about Christopher's recognition.
