BEHIND THE SCENES

Get to know a few of the West High staff members that work to keep the show running smoothly. BY MAYA CHU & GINGER MCCARTNEY

ERIC KIM PARAEDUCATOR

West alum Eric Kim ’14 has been a paraeducator at West for the last two years.

To him, being a paraeducator isn’t simply about teaching. Kim works through problems with students step by step, understanding that patience is the most important part of his job.

“You have to get a good connection. I have to try hard to get to know that person before I help,” Kim said. “Otherwise, it’s just me telling them what to do.”

Kim is also involved in the greater West High community; last year, he chaperoned at prom.

“I always [told] my friends that if I had a choice, I want to go back to high school to restart. And then, it actually happened,” Kim said.

Kim considers West to be more than a workplace or his former school.

“It feels like home, maybe because I [went to school] here, but it feels comfortable to be around here,” Kim said.

Alongside working as a para, Kim has worked at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community for eight years. Similar to his work as a para, helping others is a crucial part of the job. He is a server and also volunteers to help with fitness classes and interacts with the residents.

Kim has also worked as a chef at Melrose Meadows. He has an affinity for cooking, especially baking, inspired by his Korean heritage.

“I am more into Asian-style baking than European. Whenever I went to Korea, I always went to the bakery, and I wanted to make [the sweets] at home,” Kim said.

His favorite thing to bake is Japanese roll cake; an airy dessert filled with cream. The cake is sweet, much like Kim’s disposition when it comes to helping others.

Originally from El Salvador, Jose Diaz Rosa’s childhood was cut short due to the Salvadoran Civil War from 1979 to 1992. At the age of 14, long before being a part of the West High custodial staff, he served in the Salvadoran army. “It was kind of traumatizing, growing up in an environment like that,” Diaz Rosa said. “It can make you a man real quick.” After serving in the army, Diaz Rosa fled El Salvador at 17 years old in search of a better life. “[The journey was] stressful because you don’t know where you’re going. You just follow the stars … and find your way there,” Diaz Rosa said. “There was no food, no water. I traveled the ocean for two months, made it halfway and then I just walked.” When Diaz Rosa arrived in the U.S., he made a stop in Texas before coming to Iowa. “I saw a magazine when I was in Texas that said, ‘Iowa: Land of Opportunities’ … I was like, ‘I’ll just give it a shot,’” Diaz Rosa said. In Iowa, Diaz Rosa worked jobs like maintenance and drywall installation before settling into his position at West. In addition to being a custodian, he enjoys photography as a hobby and a side job. “I love photography. It makes me relax. It makes me try to understand what the picture is about and the story behind it,” Diaz Rosa said. As a five-year member of the custodial team, Diaz Rosa has developed a strong connection to the West community. “I think West is pretty family-oriented. That’s what I like about it … everybody’s nice,” Diaz Rosa said. “Life is very 12 PROFILE JAN. 20, 2023 tough … But I think we can all work together to make this world a little better for us, for you guys.”

JOSE DIAZ ROSA CUSTODIAN

ART & DESIGN BY ANNA SONG PHOTOS BY MAYA CHU & GINGER MCCARTNEY

QUINTIN LENTI BUILDING SUBSITUTE

BRITTANY MCCONNELL GUIDANCE OFFICE SECRETARY

West High building substitute Quintin Lenti doesn’t like to conform. Whether in music or teaching, they embrace an unconventional approach to each of their passions. Lenti grew up in Washington, playing the piano.

“I did [classical piano] for a while, but I never played it the same way twice,” Lenti said. “I play different notes, different rhythms … everything is different every time.”

This spirit of originality is reflected in Lenti’s teaching philosophy as well. They attended the University of Puget Sound to study math teaching, and believe schools’ current approach to the subject is flawed.

“It took me a long time to realize that the main reason people tend to not like math is [the lack of] community,” Lenti said. “When people say they’re bad at math, they kind of also mean, ‘I’m not respected in a math classroom,’” Lenti said.

Lenti prioritizes collaboration in every classroom they encounter.

“Anything I [can] do to make a … classroom more community-oriented will automatically make it a better classroom,” Lenti said.

As a building substitute, Lenti has the unique opportunity to take inspiration from various classrooms.

“Lots of people think of all the subjects in a school as completely separate. But if I sit in on a humanities class, I learn so much,” Lenti said. “People sit in circles … you just sit in circles if you want people to understand each other. That’s just so fundamental, [but] in math, they couldn’t even imagine sitting in a circle.”

In the future, Lenti hopes to take their teaching philosophy into their own classroom.

“The people I’m meeting here [and] the references I now have [provide] a great jumping off point to get a career anywhere,” Lenti said. Brittany McConnell ’00 has been a guidance office secretary at West for just over one year. For students, McConnell is a new presence at the school, but for West — and many other staff members — she’s a familiar face. “Being [at West] now, I still feel that welcoming, family feel, which I adore,” McConnell said. McConnell was classmates with Maureen Head, coached by Kay DiLeo and taught Spanish by Dave Rosenthal. In some ways, West has stayed the same since McConnell graduated in 2000, but in other ways, she feels aspects have drastically changed. “I don’t know what it’s like for [students] here honestly, like the computers, technology is so different,” McConnell said. McConnell would rather spend time outdoors taking photos, hiking or biking with her two daughters than be engulfed in a computer screen. “I [want] to help promote our environmental impact as humans,” McConnell said. McConnell has carried many skills she learned at West throughout her life, including the Spanish she learned from her former teacher and now co-worker, Señor Rosenthal. “I had not used so much Spanish in my life until I got this job, and I owe it all to him honestly. I kept that in my brain for 22 years,” McConnell said. As a secretary, McConnell does more than just interact with students and parents. She has the opportunity to learn, just like she did 22 years ago. “[West has] all these different cultures, all these different experiences,” McConnell said. “You can learn so much from all of that about your own self.” PROFILE JAN. 20, 2023 13