Earlier this year, I interviewed Mr. Gomez (W18) about his job as a teacher here at Schroeder. I asked questions to learn more about how he became a teacher and some ways that he connects to his community.

Mr. Gomez’s main role at Schroeder is English teacher. A Schroeder alumnus, he was really into English because of teachers such as Ms Hamm, Mrs. Connelly, and recently-retired Mrs. Savella. Originally, Mr. Gomez wanted to be a marine biologist, as he at one time loved science, but then lost interest as more math was involved in higher-level courses. He sort of struggled in math and because of this, he was drawn to English even more. Mr. Gomez is very passionate about English. He is a huge fan of poetry and loves writing. He believes one of the reasons he loves English so much is that “there is just something super powerful about what you can do with words.”

In addition to being a full-time teacher at Schroeder, Mr. Gomez is involved in several extracurriculars: Schroeder Morning Show Adviser, Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach, Class of 2023 Co-Adviser, and Schroeder Theater Company Co-Adviser (Spring drama production). He loves the idea of content creation and helping people is one of the main reasons he wanted to become a teacher. He doesn’t like the idea of working for someone else; he didn’t want his goal at work to “fill a CEO’s pockets.” Mr. Gomez has also entertained the idea of being a counselor and helping students in a role that isn’t set by a bell schedule. The bell schedule is something that Mr. Gomez is not really a fan of; he says sometimes “it is definitely taxing, it wears on you.” He still loves his job because he loves being creative and he likes working for the public.

Although heavily involved in the Schroeder school community, Mr. Gomez wishes he was more involved in his off-campus community, but he really hasn’t gotten a great chance to do that yet. In his early 20s, the community he lived in wasn’t a good fit and people were always coming and going so it was difficult to build relationships. He recently moved into a new community and plans on becoming more involved as his family continues to grow after getting married last year. Mr. Gomez still tries his best at supporting local restaurants and stores by shopping at them frequently, as well as staying involved with local politics.