This week, the Warrior Word sat down with Angel and Jorge, who work in the school’s IT department. From owning a monkey to being able to play every instrument, Angel and Jorge are intriguing people who work behind the scenes to ensure that the technology in the school runs smoothly.
Tziyona Gheblikian: Where were you both born and raised?
Jorge: I was born in Miami. Raised in Miami.
Angel: I was born in Ecuador. I was raised there until I was like 7 years old.
Ella Zaret: If you can describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
Angel: Unique, simple, perfect.
Jorge: Hard-working, chill, indecisive.
TG: How long have you been working here?
Jorge: Over a year for me.
Angel: And me, like two years.
EZ: What’s the most common technological problem you are asked to fix daily?
Angel: Internet issues.
Jorge: I’d say when people forget their passwords.
TG: Is that hard to fix?
Jorge: No, it’s simple.
TG: What are your favorite and least favorite parts about working with technology?
Jorge: My favorite thing is after we fix things. Everyone is so grateful because we rely so much on technology, that if we are out of internet for like ten minutes, you don’t even remember what you used to do with your life before the internet. So, everyone is so grateful when we fix things. I’d say the least favorite is when things are out of our control. Like recently, they were digging in the streets-
Angel: There was no internet for a good two days. Maybe you guys didn’t use the internet, maybe you guys were using your own data.
Jorge: –There was a construction company that hit a line of ours, so we didn’t have Wi-Fi at the school until they fixed it. But like, when things are out of our control, we get yelled at by everybody freaking out. But that’s all we can do, so that part sucks.
Angel: It’s not our fault.
EZ: Have you always wanted to work in IT? If not, what did you want to do as a child?
Angel: Not really, I didn’t know that I would be in IT. I used to play soccer a lot, so I thought I was going to be a soccer player. I wanted that to be my career.
Jorge: Well, ever since I was little, I was always good at doing stuff with computers. I see baby pictures where I’m doing things my parents can’t even do with computers. I actually wanted to be a detective. And then I went to Police Academy, but no agency would hire me, so then I just switched gears and went back to what I was actually good at, which is IT.
TG: So what’s something that not many people know about you?
Jorge: I play music.
TG: Which instruments do you play?
Jorge: Like all of them.
EZ and TG: That’s so cool!
TG: And how about you [Angel]? What’s something that not many people know about you?
Angel: I don’t know. I have no idea what people don’t know about me. Maybe that I like to have a night life too, like I like night life a lot. Maybe people don’t know that.
TG: From my understanding, one of you just recently bought a monkey?
Angel: Yeah, that’s me.
TG: That’s awesome! What made you decide to get one?
Angel: I was talking to one of my friends about the animals we’d like to have. And then we were like: “Oh, I’d like a monkey,” so we said we should get one. It was just a joke, but we ended up making it something serious. We just got a monkey.
TG: Is it hard to take care of a monkey?
Angel: It doesn’t stay with me that long because I’m never home, but he’s always in the house. The monkey only eats and sleeps, and plays around for a little bit because he’s a baby.
EZ: What are your favorite books, or movies?
Angel: My favorite book was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and my favorite movie is called Goal.
Jorge: I like A Song of Ice and Fire, the Game of Thrones books. My favorite movie: I want to say District 9, it was a good one for a while. I don’t really watch many movies these days.
TG: What are your hobbies?
Jorge: Music.
Angel: Watching Soccer.
EZ: If you had the opportunity to invent a new ice cream flavor, what would it be?
Jorge: That’s hard because the best one was already invented: mint chocolate chip.
EZ: I agree one hundred percent. One hundred and ten percent, actually.
Angel: I don’t eat ice cream that much, so I don’t know.
Jorge: If I had to invent an ice cream…that’s hard. I feel like they’ve tried to do every flavor, and the ones that failed failed for a reason. So if I came up with something that doesn’t already exist, it’d taste horrible.
TG: What makes you most proud?
Jorge: Doing a good job. Knowing full well that I went into it, and I gave it my best, and no matter what the outcome was, I did my best.
Angel: Me too.
TG: What is a major accomplishment that you are proud of?
Angel: For me, I was the best soccer player in the state of Florida for two years in a row. I felt like I did something good for me. So I feel really good.
TG: And what made you stop playing soccer?
Angel: Well, I was playing semi-professional soccer early. So we went to New York and I twisted my knee playing over there, because I didn’t wear boots. That’s what happened to me. My career was over there. Even the doctor told me that I wouldn’t be able to play soccer again how I wanted to. I was like 17, I was really young.
TG: Were you guys friends before this job?
Jorge: No, I met him here.
TG: Alright, that’ll be all for today. Thank you so much for your time!
By Tziyona Gheblikian (11th grade), and Ella Zaret (11th grade)