by Aydn Morris

Mr. Adan Jaramillo will serve as Bosco’s principal for the remainder of the school year. It has been quite the journey for Mr. Jaramillo, who is a Bosco alum and has served in numerous capacities as a faculty member over the past few years.

Mr. Jaramillo was the youngest Vice Principal in Bosco history and is now the youngest Principal Bosco has ever had. Being a young principal helps him relate with the students more on their situations and challenges throughout their high school experience.

Mr. Jaramillo is very motivated to take the intern principal role despite the fact that it wasn’t something he was working toward getting. What motivated Mr. Jaramillo to take up the role as Interim Principal were the students, teachers, staff and parents. He was motivated because of the excitement and honor he was given for this opportunity to serve the community even more than he already has.

Mr. Jaramillo wants to give the Bosco Salesian experience to all of the students. Clearly, he has a vision for the school, which is to give all the students their social, emotional and educational needs by treating every kid with care and attention. He also envisions making Bosco known for their inclusive education and school opportunities.

When Mr. Jaramillo was Vice Principal, he took on the challenge of the dress code and grooming system, making his mark by allowing it to be a little bit more free, so that kids wouldn’t have to give up their nationalities or cultural customs to look a certain way. He wanted to enhance the dress code by figuring out if hair and uniform would distract education, while also bringing a sense of discipline. The uniform policies enacted by Mr. Jaramillo gave students the opportunity to say that they have a voice and have the ability to be themselves on campus.

Furthermore, Mr. Jaramillo wants to allow kids of any type of income, background or culture to be able to attend St. John Bosco, not solely who he thinks deserves to be a part of the school. He wants to be able to include the boys in any decision the school makes and also being able to hold teachers accountable by giving evaluations throughout the year to see how well leadership and staff members are doing. 

Mr. Jaramillo was born in Bellflower, grew up in South Gate and raised in Los Angeles. He was supposed to go to a Salesian high school in Los Angeles known as LA Cathedral, but he would always drive by Bosco and his dad told him he was going to go to the school, so that is what he did.

Mr. Jaramillo has been a part of St. John Bosco for 20 years, dating back to the 2000-2001 school year when he was a freshman. He has also been a part of the Salesian world since he was five years old, meaning he has been involved with all things Salesian for nearly three decades. His Brother Eddy Jaramillo also went to Bosco, graduating as part of the class of 2002.

Mr. Jaramillo started teaching at Bosco when he was 24 years old, with current Bosco teachers Mr. Avila and Mr. Alvidrez being amongst his first students. He taught seniors at the time, instructing the History of Los Angeles class, Economics and Government. After that, he became a Dean, then the Dean of Activities, Campus Minister and Vice Principal. He never had any aspirations or thought of what he was going to do or be in the Bosco community, but he watched and admired Mr. Linares and Coach Griffin due to their professionalism, reputations, work ethics, responsibility and the way they cared for their students.  

What inspires Mr. Jaramillo is his wife and his two-year-old son, who he plans to send to St. John Bosco in the future. They inspire him because Mr. Jaramillo wants to be a role model for his son the same way his dad was a role model to him. Mr. Jaramillo’s wife works at St. Dominic Savio and they have been married for five years. 

“Me and my wife crossed paths in Mexico at a camp and never even noticed it. When we figured out that we had both been at the same camp at the same time, it was one of the greatest moments of realization,” said Mr. Jaramillo. 

The former principal, Dr. Christian DeLarkin, was a great leader for St. John Bosco. He was a part of the Bosco community for seven years after being the former Principal of Serra High School in Gardena. Dr. DeLarkin has moved on to serve as President of St. Pius-St. Matthias Academy in Downey. 

Mr. Jaramillo was great friends with Dr. DeLarkin and admired the patience he had. The impact Dr. DeLarkin made during his time at Bosco was certainly noticeable and appealed to Mr. Jaramillo.

“Dr. Christian De Larkin always had time for someone; he never told anyone no. Christian is a very good person. He would always be there for you and listen to you and have an open heart, which I find very fond of him,” said Mr. Jaramillo.

Mr. Jaramillo appreciated that Dr. DeLarkin always seemed to be there for somebody. The day Mr. Jaramillo’s wife went into labor, he called his brother first to tell him the news. But, his brother never answered, so he called Dr. DeLarkin and started confiding in him, to which Dr. DeLarkin asked him to pray.

When former Bosco Head of Security Mr. Ismael “Ish” Fernandez passed away in February, Mr. Jaramillo recalls Dr. DeLarkin acting with true leadership and professionalism in the face of tragedy.  

“When Ish passed, Dr. DeLarkin had been shocked, but he then proceeded to handle the Bosco community well by sending out an email and telling everyone the tragic news, even while mourning his death,” said Mr. Jaramillo.

Mr. Jaramillo also admired Dr. DeLarkin’s resilience, passion and love he had for others, as well as taking time and getting to know them. The St. John Bosco community appreciates everything Dr. De Larkin has done and wishes him the best of luck. Now, here’s to the future with Mr. Jaramillo!