A passion for teaching

Alyson Moss is a 2022 Alumni Rising ` Runner

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 15^th, 2022

Alyson Moss has been selected as the 2022 Alumni Rising ` Runner for the School of Arts and Humanities. Each spring during Homecoming Week, the Rising ` Runner program recognizes CSUB alumni of the last 10 years who are already making an impact in their career and community.

Alyson Moss never imagined herself as a high school teacher when she first came to California State University, Bakersfield in 2008 to study history, but a four-year-long sojourn in Japan changed her perspective.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from CSUB in 2010 and starting a history graduate program at the university in 2011, Moss took a break to teach English in Japan from 2013 to 2017. The opportunity arose after her husband Jeff — a history professor at Bakersfield College — was invited to teach there as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program.

“We both studied Japanese and east Asian history, so it was a perfect decision for us to go experience something new,” she said. “We only intended to stay for two years, but we stayed four because we just enjoyed it so much.”

During her time there, Moss taught the English language to elementary-age children all the way up to adults. However, it was her experience with high school-age children in particular that inspired her to consider a career as a high school teacher.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you want to do,” she said. “After living in Japan and teaching students of that age group for a few years, I kind of grew into loving that profession and loving seeing the trajectory a lot of students make within that age group.”

CSUB alumna Alyson Moss and her husband Jeff during their four-year stay in Japan

After resuming her education at CSUB and earning her master’s in 2019, Moss was hired later that year by the Kern High School District as a social studies teacher at Liberty High School. She was one of the first teachers at the school to offer dual enrollment classes, enabling students to receive college credit.

“I really am happy to offer dual enrollment. We can explore the different nuances that historical study has to offer, which I really love,” she said.

Moss said her experiences in Japan were very challenging, in part because she had to overcome her anxiety about teaching.

“I think it was really helpful for me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” she said. “I was always kind of a shy student, someone who always overanalyzed things and was really anxious. Being in charge of teaching English to a group of young Japanese students humbled me a lot and allowed me to kind of be okay with making mistakes.”

Moss said she has applied the lessons she learned from her time in Japan to the work she does now at Liberty High.

“I think that experience helped me become a more confident person in my knowledge and in my delivery of things and to also be more comfortable with not knowing everything,” she said.

In addition to her work at the high school, Moss has returned to CSUB this spring to teach INST 3900: Educator as Social Scientist, which is the capstone course for students in the Social Science Teacher Preparation Program.

“I jumped on it right away because I’ve always wanted to lecture or instruct at the college level. I feel really excited that I get to do that,” she said. “I think it will keep me on my own toes too and help me reflect on my own teaching with my high school students.”

Moss is happy to be able to be part of CSUB again, as she said she had a great experience pursuing her degrees at the university.

“I absolutely love CSUB. It holds such a special place in my heart,” she said. “I loved the atmosphere of the campus. Everything was so close and all the professors were wonderful and approachable. I think CSUB really helps people find something that they can relate to. There’s always a community there that you can feel a part of.”

Moss said her time at the university helped solidify her love for teaching and she hopes to be able to provide a similar experience for the students in her course.

“I would not be the teacher I am today or in this profession had it not been for those professors and that community,” she said. “I don’t want to be a teacher that just gets stagnant with their curriculum. I want to keep learning and keep discussing, becoming a better version of myself constantly, and CSUB has really instilled that in me.”