Testimonials
Dr. Kim is a dynamic instructor. She teaches the various principles and practices that teachers who plan to work with youth of any age must use to promote their positive self-images, positive self-esteem, and self-assertion. Dr. Kim used the same principles and practices we learned as her students to interact with us daily. Before taking classes with Dr. Kim, I had a difficult time standing up for myself. Because of my own upbringing and divorce, I often thought something was wrong with me. After taking classes with Dr. Kim I realized that I matter, how I feel matters, and how I think matters. I don’t need to be what others want me to be or expect me to be. Dr. Kim showed me the unconditional love that I never had from my own mother and had been missing since my grandmother passed away. Today, I know who I am, what I stand for, and that being me is good enough. I am a good mom to my daughter, because Dr. Kim taught us and modeled what good caregiving looks like. I honestly do not know where my daughter and I would be today if I had not met Dr. Kim
Dr. Kim Metcalfe became a huge inspiration for me. The first time I took one of her classes, she literally told all of us, “you are all beautiful” at the end of each class. This simple phase made me see that there were professors that actually cared for your education. She made me feel welcome, important, and that I mattered. I was still a kid trying to figure out what to do with my life and hearing her story made me want to become a better version of myself because if she could do it, so can I. I am now a proud preschool teacher at a local school helping children reach their potential, and I love it. Thank you Dr. Metcalfe.
Dr. Kim taught me how to teach young children with the love and empathy they deserve. She taught us how to always consider the child’s perspective, and the needs attached to their emotions. Dr. Kim taught with so much passion and excitement that it made me passionate and excited to learn. There are so many tools and techniques to inspire young people to become their best selves, while guiding them in developing the life skills they need to live a good life. I aspire to be the kind of teacher that Dr. Kim was with us. I hope that one day I have a student who sees me the way I see Dr. Kim. Before taking classes with Dr. Kim I would not have known how to work with young people who are excessively demanding. These young people are angry, they yell, they harm themselves and others, they refuse to listen, and insist on getting their way. The classroom with these types of kids, can quickly become chaotic, and teachers might spend more time trying to control the environment than enjoying their job as teachers, and watching children explore, discover, and learn. When I have demanding, disruptive children in my class I immediately implement the tools, and techniques I learned in Dr. Kim’s classes— “there is always, always a goal behind misbehavior. As a teacher or a parent your job is not to tell young people how to feel, it is to help them identify their feelings, and the need attached that feeling, and the appropriate way to get their need met.” I don’t only teach this to my students, I use it in my own life. My life as a teacher and a parent is richer and more rewarding because of Dr. Kim’s classes, and her passion for what she does.
I was going through a difficult time in my life. My best friend had passed away after fighting cancer. My husband had experienced two heart attacks, which caused a financial hardship on our family. I decided that I needed to go back to school to prepare myself for employment to ease the financial hardship on my family. I wasn’t emotionally or mentally ready for school. Before taking classes with Dr. Kim I was a complete wreck. I had doubts about my own capabilities because I had not been in school in over twenty-five years. I was just certain that everyone in college was going to be younger, smarter, and more prepared than me. Fear almost made me want to throw in the towel. But then, in walks Dr. Kim, the professor of the class. She was warm, supportive, funny, and sensitive to the wide variety of needs in the classroom. We were an extremely diverse group, in age, nationality, race, and cultural beliefs. In a few weeks she had all of us believing that it didn’t matter where we came from, all that mattered is where we were going, and that we could reach our goals and live our dreams. Dr. Kim is the most motivating person I have ever met. When students received a low score on an assignment, Dr. Metcalfe would tell them that they were not their grade. More importantly, she taught us strategies to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and the steps to turn weaknesses to turn our weaknesses into our strengths. I use these tools and I have taught them to my own teen-agers to support them during difficult struggles. Dr. Kim played a very important role in making me what I am today, and I am highly grateful. I am now a teacher for Riverside City College Early Childhood Center and completed many certificates in Early Childhood Education, as well as my Associate of Arts degree. Today I am working towards earning my Bachelor’s degree. I would like to thank Dr. Kim Metcalfe for being a major source of inspiration in my life and for teaching me the tools to achieve my goals.
Before meeting Dr. Kim, my brother and I had no support or guidance because all of our family lives in Mexico. My mother died giving birth to my baby brother. Shortly after my baby brother was born my alcoholic abusive father got a girlfriend and they threw me and my 18 year old brother out of the house. He no longer received government assistance for us and felt we were a burden. Dr. Kim changed my life. I learned from her that all people have a purpose, and finding it and living your own truth matters more than anything. Today I can say that my brother and I are successful young people making a difference by having a healthy family structure as a result of Dr. Kim’s wisdom and passion and Dr. Kim’s belief in us. My brother works and has an amazing daughter that he loves, adores, and cares for appropriately. I enjoy my work as a certificated preschool teacher.
It’s amazing to see what a difference I make in the lives of young people and their parents. My brother and I live life with a positive vibe. Dr. Kim gave more than words, tools, and strategies for self-discovery she gave my brother, his daughter, and me a place to belong, someone to turn to when we have concerns and questions. My brother and I learned to depend on each other, but now we have a family of support and love with Dr. Kim. I have learned that family comes from the heart not from blood. Dr. Kim has helped others as well and she brought us together as a family. Abel and I are not alone, we belong, we have a family now in our home country, thank you Dr. Kim.
Before I met Dr. Kim, I felt defeated, somber, and stressed. I was in the midst of earning my Associate of Arts degree. I was living at home with my mother, but decided to move to my cousin’s home because I couldn’t handle the verbal , emotional, and physical abuse of my mother. When I began taking classes from Dr. Kim I learned strategies for positivity, and healthy quality development. These strategies took me from a defeated state to an energetic one. I began to see myself as having power to decide on the journey I wanted to take in my life, rather than a victim who was powerless to do anything about my challenges. I discovered much about myself from the techniques I learned from Dr. Kim as well as the techniques she used when she interacted with me. I finally learned that the way other people treat you is not a reflection of you, it is a reflection of them; it is absolutely okay to fail and make mistakes because it gives us opportunities to learn and grow; we can choose our family we aren’t stuck with one that hurts us; and working hard and having ethics is a great attribute. Today, I am using the tools I learned from Dr. Kim to make a better relationship with my father, have a minimal but positive relationship with my mother, take care of my health by choosing exercise, and quality foods, identify the types of people who are good for me and those who are not, to be true to my core principles every day, and to value myself and my purpose more than any material things. I’m kicking debt in the you know what, enjoying the now, and making a better future for myself— I know to walk away from places and people who do not resonate with me and provide me with a sense of belonging. “If I want it to be it is up to me!” Thank you, Dr. Kim for the gift of EMPOWERMENT!
I gladly write this testimonial for Dr. Kim, as she inspired me from the first class through the last class I took from her. I wanted to be like Dr. Kim, a person who inspires others and provides them with the tools they need to discover who they are at their core, and to be true to who they are. Dr. Kim was compassionate yet, she had high expectations of her students, which pushed me forward with my education. She believed in me and in all of her students. I always found myself doing the best job I could on every assignment. I wanted to master the tools and strategies that changed my life from a young women who wasn’t sure what she could do to a women who believed she could do anything she dreamed of doing. After earning my Associate of Arts degree with Dr. Kim, I transferred to California State University and earned my Bachelor’s degree. I continued my education and earned my Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. I taught my first college level Early Childhood Education class for Moreno Valley College this past fall semester. My educational journey was long and challenging, but the tools and inspiration I had along the way came from Dr. Kim. From the bottom of my heart I say thank you, Dr. Kim for being that person who taught us and showed us how to accomplish our goals, and live our dreams. Yes, one step at a time. One day at a time. Then you arrive.
I will never forget the feelings I had before I met Dr. Kim. I was certain I would have to drop my Child Development classes because I was struggling with English as a second language. I was petrified but I decided to speak with Dr. Kim after class and discuss my fears with respect to doing well in school because of my language barrier. Dr. Kim was very kind, encouraging, and told me I could call or email her to get clarification about issues I couldn’t understand lecture. When I think about what she said and its impact in my today and future life, I can’t thank enough for what life put in my way that day. The confidence my professor DR Kim Metcalfe gave me on that day have changed my whole life. From just taking ESL classes to becoming a successful student with 3.9 GPA transferring to UCLA or UCI this coming fall. She taught me how learning English could be just an obstacle to remove like any other difficulty in life. She has taught me how to be a better mom and how to be a better human being. In her classes I just haven’t learned about becoming a teacher or how to behave with children, I have learned lessons of life which have shaped a part of me and my character as a more passionate, more caring and a better human being. I am from Iran. When I became an American citizen, and I was invited to choose an American name, I chose the name Abigail. I could think of no better way to honor the person who gave me encouragement and hope when I needed it the most, the person who gave me the tools to make life in America into the dream we were told it could be—I chose Abigail to honor Dr. Kim and the daughter she lost.
Abigail Shayegun
Before I took the first class with Dr. Metcalfe I was grieving. My pain and struggle were from intense bullying I had experienced from kindergarten until the age of 16 years. In middle school, I went through the most trauma in my life. My own classmates bullied me to the point of emotional exhaustion. I reported these events to my teacher but she did nothing and showed no care for my suffering. As time passed I became extremely depressed and suicidal. I began to wonder if I did something to deserve the way kids were treating me. My one time dreams of becoming a teacher faded away. Those thoughts of suicide remained with me until my second year of college when I began taking developmental classes with Dr. Kim. She was caring, sensitive, and kind. She taught us all of the strategies to use with children when become teachers. But she also used the same strategies with us. She encouraged us to think of ourselves as a puzzle that only we can put together. She led by example. She also encouraged us to take care of old hurts and pains so we could reach our full potential. Because of Dr. Kim I sought out help to deal with the old wounds from my past. Today, I feel like my time with Dr. Kim saved me. My dream of becoming a teacher was restored. I am an Associate Teacher at Riverside Community College. I am working toward my Psychology Associate of Arts degree. I plan on becoming a Developmental Psychologist, like Dr. Kim. I remember her words as if they were spoken yesterday “Don’t be an ordinary teacher. Be an extraordinary teacher and think out of the box,” and now I always do! Thank you, Dr. Kim!!
