By Julio Moreno
After a dozen years as a science teacher at Pueblo Magnet High School, Mr. James Uomoto decided to retire last month at the end of the first semester —or, as he would prefer to call it: “to switch his focus.”
Since ’02, Uomoto taught freshman integrated science and physics. He occasionally interjected to his students not only his enthusiasm for his subject matter, but his passion for his other job—owning and maintaining a motorized bicycle shop, which he affectionately calls “U-MOTO Motorized Bicycles”.
“I am not actually retiring,” Uomoto asserted. “I’m just transitioning to my business full-time.”
Although excited for the success of his bike business, Uomoto said that he could not deny his sadness about leaving Pueblo, his home, after 12 years.
“I will definitely miss helping students grow and achieve, being part of the process of helping student better themselves,” he said. “I’m also going to miss the faculty and staff here at Pueblo because they are truly the standard of excellent education.”
Uomoto said that he was inspired by his father, an Amphi Middle School teacher, to become an educator after witnessing the joy that his students brought to him.
He added that education is not a particularly easy field to dive into, but wants future educators to know some of the most valuable lessons he has learned while at Pueblo.
“You [new teachers] definitely need to develop a sense of humor early on,” Uomoto said, “and don’t take things to seriously or you’ll go crazy!”
“Teaching always comes with its share of challenges,” he said. Uomoto’s biggest challenge, he said,” was finding new ways to inspire students and to engage them intellectually.”
“The challenge is to motivate students to find the answers as to why they need to pursue education in life,” he said. “It’s a good challenge, though, don’t get me wrong. Anything in life worth doing is a challenge, and I appreciate it because it has helped me become better at my craft.
With a heavy heart, Pueblo Magnet High School says its goodbyes to Mr. James Uomoto and wishes him luck in all of his future endeavors.
If you would like to learn more about U-MOTO Bicycles, visit umotobikes.com.