ORLANDO, Fla. — A+ Teacher Gina Ortiz was once a scientist working on her doctorate degree when she discovered a passion for sharing knowledge with students.

What You Need To Know

Gina Ortiz teaches fifth grade at Orlando Gifted Academy

Ortiz was a gifted learner educated in Orange County Public Schools

She said her students have made her a better person 

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Gina Ortiz’s students share her passion for science and learning. 

“These kids pick up so much so quickly that I can extend things really far with them,” Ortiz said. “Like I’m sitting here with fifth-graders having a conversation about limiting reactants in chemicals, and that’s something that they can grasp readily.”

Ortiz is a proud product of the Orange County Public School system, and she remembers being right where her students are now.

“I want each day to be the best day ever for my kids because that’s what I wanted, and that’s what I needed as a gifted learner,” she said.

She has earned an environmental science degree, and as part of her progress toward a Ph.D. in biology, she was conducting research in the Greater Everglades ecosystem. As a research assistant, she worked for an outreach program that collaborated with public schools. That is when she realized she loved working with students.

Ortiz encourages her students to be inquisitive.

“Always question. Always wonder,” she said. “Man, like, I want them to remain curious individuals. That sense of curiosity that children inherently have is so valuable to their academic journey, and I really want them to stay in tune to that.”

Ortiz added, “I feel like the kids have helped me become a better person. So, while I work with them navigating the academic thing — the personal thing — I have also, in turn, become a more empathetic, patient person with myself and with others.”

She shared the reaction some have when they learn about her choice to pursue a career in the classroom.

“They’re like, you’d make a lot more money writing curriculum or being in a lab or you would have to deal with a lot less stress doing curriculum or being in a lab, but being with the kids is so worth it,” Ortiz said.

She said she has no regrets.

“I always say that me ending up here was a happy accident. This found me,” Ortiz said.