A drive past Overland Trail Middle School in Brighton, Colorado may cause a double take for anyone familiar with our Alumni Spotlight Jorge Gonzalez Moncada. Arriving to the United States from Guanajuato, MX at ten years old, Jorge would never have predicted that he would be highlighted as a success story from his former middle school. Twenty years later his photo can be seen covering the entire east side of the school’s building. It is no wonder he was selected for this recognition as his accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary.
Before he became a proud BUENO Center student, Jorge entered schools in the U.S. frustrated as an emerging bilingual student. He remembered being regarded as a high-achieving student in Mexico but now struggled to make sense of the content in this new language. He credits his English Language Development teacher, Ms. Duran, for having the patience to support his English acquisition. He explains, “she really helped me to learn English and when I returned to that school district to teach, by coincidence, Ms. Duran would occasionally substitute for me.”
Jorge started his tenure as a BUENO student through the College Assistance Migrant Program at Aims Community College (BUENO CAMP) in 2009, the cohort he describes as probably the best BUENO has ever had. Current program Director, Dr. Robert Garcia shares “Jorge was a lot of fun while he was in the program. He walked around with the biggest the most welcoming smile and was always willing to support his peers with their academics, an area where he shined.” This led to Jorge’s participation in BUENO’s Career Ladder Program, which supported him as he earned his AA degree at Aims and then BA in Secondary Mathematics and Teacher Licensure at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). He explains his inspiration to teach came from teaching his mother to read and write when he was young. “That was the spark for me” he shares, but then his decision to be in the classroom was solidified once he started working as a tutor for the AVID program.
His educational journey continued with BUENO as a participant in the Educational Equity for Cultural Diversity Master’s program in 2014. At this time, he was teaching math at Brighton High School and saw the opportunity to strengthen his advocacy for his culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with BUENO once again. Jorge did not stop there, and eventually went on to earn his EdS in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and K-12 Principal Licensure at UNC. His decision to move to administration came when he found continuously volunteering on different committees and initiatives fell short of the true advocacy for CLD students he wanted to facilitate. He wanted to make a bigger impact and have more of a say in policy decisions, behavioral issues and instill cultural awareness among the teaching staff. He gets to do this in his current role as Assistant Principal of D6 Online Academy, which is 70% Latinx students.
In recollection of his time in the various BUENO programs, Jorge’s memories are only positive, sharing his desire to thank the BUENO Center Directors for their constant support. He states, “I appreciated Dr. Aragon ensuring I found success, throughout every step of my career. Robert…Dr. Garcia was always there to help, read my papers and offer advice and Tammy for her guidance along the way.”
