By Anais Salais
This spring semester welcomed several new faculty and staff members to the Pueblo community, including Mr. Ernesto Somoza, our new Communication Media Technology teacher.
Somoza attended the University of Arizona where he earned his bachelor’s degree in photography while minoring in art education.
While attending the University of Arizona, Somoza worked for the campus’ newspaper, The Daily Wildcat, as a photographer. The significant amount of hours that he invested while working for the Wildcat (and later with Red Bull as a photographer) was enough for Somoza to earn a CTE teaching certification in photography.
After graduating from college, Somoza took his first teaching position working as a special education teacher at Utterback Middle and later at Oyama Elementary School.
Eventually, Somoza saw an opportunity to teach photography, and this position eventually brought him to Pueblo.
“I wanted to find a job that was close to home and one that I got to teach photography and graphic arts,” said Somoza. “It’s exciting coming to work [at Pueblo] because I’m teaching what I truly love.”
Somoza is teaching a new class here at Pueblo that educates and trains students about enrolling in communications media technologies courses.
“This class hopefully breaks the monotony of how school is set up,” Somoza said. He added, “This class helps students understand basic concepts while making them more creative while adhering to the Common Core.”
Although Somoza came in at the beginning of the second semester—and the class is something both new to him and his students—Somoza remains optimistic and positive.
“So far, my experience at Pueblo has been great!” Somoza said. “The students are enthusiastic, and that makes me excited to teach when I see that they are excited.” He added, “I’ve already seen students’ creative levels increase, and I can just imagine where they’ll be by May.”
Somoza’s goal for the remainder of the school year is to ensure that his students are prepared to enter the appropriate communications art class next fall.
“I’m hoping that when students leave this class in May, they’re able to amaze their next teachers,” said Somoza.
Somoza also has hopes to see more students, especially the underclassmen, enroll in his class as they prepare for the communication art electives.
“I would encourage students to take this class if they are interested in taking classes like photography or graphic arts,” said Somoza. “This class is about going more in depth with the outstanding programs that are offered here at Pueblo.”