Young Man from Teruel Receives Education and Values ​​Award from University of Zaragoza

The young man from Teruel Diego Esteban Torres has just received the Education and Values ​​award from the Social Council of the University of Zaragoza. He has studied the degree of Primary Education and defends the importance of this profession.

-What does it mean to have received this distinction that values ​​the academic aspect but goes a little further?
-This recognition is very special because it not only shows off the effort and perseverance that I made during the degree, but also goes further and values ​​the training courses that I have taken outside the degree, the master’s degree that I have been taking this last year in Research in Education.

-What are the lines of research in which you are working?
-I started with my final degree project. I have always liked the theme of sports in school Physical Education. I started researching in this line in the TFG and in the master’s degree my TGM has also been related to the promotion of physical activity related to motivational strategies that encourage it. Facing the doctoral thesis, I would like to follow these lines, investigate what are the keys that can lead some schoolchildren, some adolescents to be inactive in the province of Teruel or in Aragon, so that teachers or institutions can influence those aspects and contribute so that in the future all children and adolescents are more active.

-He is also an athlete.
-I have been playing tennis since I was 8 years old and I currently compete at the national level on the IBP circuit and this summer I will participate in various competitions at the national level and I would like to start in the professional circuit with an ITF license in September.

-Combining sport with study is complicated. How has it been organised?
-It’s very complicated. I have always liked tennis and have made it compatible since I was little. It’s about discipline, prioritizing and devoting time to what you think is most appropriate for your life. I have studied for many hours, but I have always reserved my space to be able to train, to be able to compete. Tennis has been a source of motivation to study.

Profession

-Many times the profession of teacher is not well valued. Can these types of awards help change this?
-At the award ceremony I already highlighted the importance of the teaching profession. In my case it is totally vocational. I have always wanted to study Teaching. It is true that they are not highly valued and highly regarded in Spain, on the other hand, in other countries such as Finland or Norway, the Education degree is the most valued in the country. I think this should be so for the good of society. Of course, this type of award encourages the teaching career and the teaching profession to be valued more, and I encourage future students to study teaching.

-Are you going to continue in the field of research or do you want to teach?
-Next year I’m going to start my doctoral thesis. I will continue investigating. In the future I would like to make university teaching compatible with the research profile, but I do not rule out one day being a teacher because it has always been my vocation.

What would you highlight about your university career?
-I would like to thank all the teachers I had in Teruel, I have always been able to extract something from all of them. I have always had very good memories and very good learning. In particular, I would like to remember a professor who has been my mentor, has directed my TFG and my TFM and currently guides me in my research facet Alberto Abarca. All the successes that I can achieve are also thanks to him.

-This course has received several other awards.
-This year I have had the fortune and the honor of receiving the extraordinary end-of-study award, which is for the best record of my promotion. I also received the Healthy Campus award for my TFG and now the Training and Values ​​award. For me it is a real privilege and I think it is due to the perseverance and effort that I have been making for so many years and that is now paying off.

-What would you highlight about the Teruel Campus as a place to study a career?
-It is a space that encourages all students to have very close relationships between them. The teachers also know you by name. The deal is very close. If you make an effort and take your studies seriously, it is a place that favors learning. In my case, studying Primary Education with a major in Physical Education is a space that allows you to study content of a very diverse nature: you can work on physical activities in the natural environment, you have different pavilions that allow you to work on content such as collective and individual physical activities. For me it is an ideal space and environment. Sometimes a bit underrated. I would encourage all the students who want to take the degrees that are in Teruel to do so because they get very good training and it allows you to train for tomorrow to be competent in the profession.