By Oscar Aranda

Students are thrilled to be back at school, but for former St. John Bosco student Mr. Mario Cordero, class of 97’, he’s continued to return for the last 20 years to give back to the Bosco community as one of the campus’ most beloved teachers. 

Mr. Cordero, a social studies instructor here on campus, attended St. John Bosco from 1993 to 1997. Mr. Cordero had already came from a Catholic school environment before attending Bosco and was accompanied by half a dozen of his closest friends. This allowed him to make the easy transition into Bosco and get involved with the school pretty early. However, as a student, teaching wasn’t always the plan for Mr. Cordero.

“I wanted to be a shortstop for the Dodgers and then I realized that I shouldn’t put all my eggs in that basket. The next thing I would rather do is be a teacher, and I don’t want to do anything else,” said Mr. Cordero.

Mr. Cordero also noted that there are differences between campus from when he was a student and now. He noticed that the campus had more students while he was at Bosco and was a little more wild. For Cordero, campus now has less kids and is a much calmer environment than the Bosco that he attended. Another difference at Bosco was the rule that the students were only allowed to eat by the 400 buildings and were not allowed to use the basketball courts.

Mr. Cordero found a sense of a community while at Bosco and felt that he had found himself at home when he attended school. He found himself back at Bosco when he was hired by his former baseball coach Chris Jondell to help out at Bosco. The fond memories and his time at Bosco as a former student was what made him excited to come back to Bosco as a teacher. Mr. Cordero has been here for 20 years, but feels the persistent need to keep coming back.

“What makes me keep coming back to Bosco is the students and the coworkers for sure. The students we have are really exceptional students that are great young men,” said Mr. Cordero. 

Not only was Bosco a home to Mr. Cordero, but furthermore, an environment in which he felt he belonged. Mr. Cordero was involved in numerous activities here at Bosco including student government, soccer and baseball. Mr. Cordero was also taught by many teachers here on campus that are recognizable for students on campus now. He was taught by Mr. Linares, Mr. Mestas. Mrs. Machado and Mr. Antonelli who are still active teachers here on campus.

Mr. Cordero has also not been the only Cordero to attend Bosco. His two sons, Cruz Cordero, class of 2020, and Santos Cordero, who is currently a sophomore here at Bosco, have been a part of the Bosco experience. Mr. Cordero was adamant that he did not force his kids to come here and wanted to make sure that they knew they were not obligated to come just because he taught here. The decision to come to Bosco was entirely in the hands of Cruz and Santos.

Knowing how hard it is for freshman students, Mr. Cordero left some words of wisdom for current Braves that may be struggling to find themselves here at Bosco.

“There’s a place for you here at Bosco, and if for whatever reason you feel you can’t find your place here, reach out. There are always people here to help you find your place,” said Mr. Cordero.

By Aydn Morris

St. John Bosco welcomes new long-term sub and St. Joseph alumna Ms. Munoz, who specializes in biological sciences.

Q. What College did you attend and when did you graduate?

A. I attended Cal Poly Pomona and graduated in December 2020.

Q. What did you study in and why did you choose to study that?

A. I majored in Biological Sciences because I had always planned to be in the medical field or teach on the subject.

Q. What high school did you attend and did you grow up there?

A. I graduated from Saint Joseph High School and actually had to take the bus every morning because I lived in Los Angeles.

Q. What interested you about becoming a science teacher?

A. Science has always been something I have been passionate about. Being exposed to working with and mentoring kids from high school until I received my bachelor’s degree was a very rewarding experience, which made me want to pursue it.

Q. What made you interested in becoming a long-term sub here?

A. Being an alumna from Saint Joseph’s, I have a lot of good memories from Bosco and being able to teach here for the first time seems like a full circle moment.

Q. What is your favorite part of teaching?

A. My favorite part of teaching would be building a connection with the kids and seeing on their faces that they really do want to learn and succeed.

Q. Have you had another teaching job?

A. This is my first teaching job!

Q. Have you had a different job other than teaching? 

A. I have actually worked for the City of Norwalk’s Parks and Recreation Department, Starbucks and Disneyland.

Q. Was becoming a teacher your dream job, if not what is/was your dream job?

A. Growing up, I always wanted to be in the medical field, then more specifically a physician assistant.

Q. What is the hardest part of being a long-term substitute, instead of a teacher?

A. I think the hardest part is the possibility of teaching another subject other than Chemistry, because I really do enjoy teaching in this subject.

Q. Have you become immersed in the Bosco community yet? How do you like it so far?

A. I went to the Bosco vs Mater Dei football game, which was really cool considering I haven’t been to a football game here in a few years.

Q. Are you from California, if not where are you from?

A. I was born and raised in California.

Q. What is one place you would love to travel to in the world?

A. I would love to travel to Greece. I have been a major Mamma Mia! fan since I was younger, so it would be amazing to go.

Q. What is your favorite type of food and favorite food?

A. My favorite food is pizza and more specifically, pineapple on pizza.

Q. What is your favorite genre of music and favorite artist?

A. I love more Latin-based music, so I am obsessed with Bad Bunny and Luis Fonsi.

Q.What is your favorite hobby?

A. My favorite hobby would be discovering new coffee shops. I love coffee so finding new spots is really cool.

Q.  Do you watch any sports, and if you do, what is your favorite sports team and player?

A. I only watch football for the sake of my stepdad, and he is a Denver Broncos fanatic.

Q. What is your favorite season of the year and why?

A. My favorite season would be Fall. I love it when its rainy weather and really dislike the heat.

Q. What is your favorite holiday?

A. My favorite holiday is Halloween because it is the perfect weather. I also love candy and scary movies.

Q. What is your favorite movie and TV show?

A. My favorite movie would be Star Wars and my favorite show would be Grey’s Anatomy.

Q. Do you have any pets? If so, what is your pet?

A. I have a purebred Blue Heeler named Dakota, and she is my best friend. She is all attitude but very obedient.

by Matthew Parsons

A guardian angel for all at St. John Bosco, Ms. Melody Mohebbi, known by many student-athletes simply as “Ms. Mel,” serves as both the Head Athletic Trainer as well as the Pathway Coordinator for Sports Medicine.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Ms. Mel and her family weren’t tethered to any single place, constantly moving across the country. She grew up in a relatively average sized household, and it was only her, her parents and brother. Like those she treats now, she was an athlete in her youth. Coming from an athletic family, she went down the path of being a gymnast and a swimmer as a child.  

“I grew up in an athletic family. My mom was actually a gold medalist in diving. And my dad was a basketball coach,” said Ms. Mel.

However, her athletic career was cut short after an injury to her arm. Although she had to give up her competitive career in sports, this injury actually gave her inspiration to later become an athletic trainer.

Since she was constantly moving across Iran, she wasn’t able to stay at a singular school. Somewhat similar to St. John Bosco, the schools in Iran are single-sex, rather than co-ed. She eventually went on to attend university after her high school years and studied geology. Although Ms. Mel never struggled with grades, she regrets that she did not try harder in school.

“I really didn’t care about grades, never did growing up. I wasn’t a bad student, but I wasn’t getting straight A’s. I’m being honest; I was a very procrastinating person. I would always, always – I’m not even kidding you when I say – I would study the night before,” said Ms. Mel.

She originally attended university in Iran, obtaining a degree in geology. She always wanted to work in the medical field, dating back to when she was just a child. Her dream profession was actually to be a doctor, but due to the harsh medical field in Iran, she opted for geology.

“I always wanted to do stuff in the medical field but in Iran, but it is very, very difficult to get into, so that’s why I went with the second best thing that I liked,” said Ms. Mel.

At the age of 24, Ms. Mel made the huge decision to leave her home country to the completely foreign place of England. She claimed asylum in England in order to escape the country, which opened up her horizons and gave her more opportunities for work. 

Working at St. John Bosco was not Ms. Mel’s first working experience. In England, she worked with the women’s Manchester City soccer team and the Manchester Sharks rugby team. She also owned two of her own training clinics over the course of two years.

However, this is the first and only job she has had in the United States, and getting the position of Head Athletic Trainer at Bosco was by chance. Before she was recommended to take the position, she had never even heard of the school. Being desperate for a full-time job for her work visa, she decided to take up the position, and by no means was it an easy road after that. Bosco was her first experience working with kids, as opposed to her other jobs with just adults and professionals.

Being the only athletic trainer at a school like St. John Bosco was extremely difficult for Ms. Mel. She was constantly working alone and, for many years, was under a huge amount of pressure to make sure things were always going well. She had to work to make sure that in each sport the athletes were safe and always getting the proper care and treatment that they needed.

It got to the point where she was dealing with a severe burnout, and she didn’t know if she would be able to continue working at Bosco. Thus, she requested an assistant, leading the way for Mr. Coreyon Edwards to join the athletic training staff. 

Through all of the trials and tribulations of being the head Athletic Trainer, Ms. Mel has still kept good relationships with the students at Bosco.

“She’s really nice and very easy to work with whenever you need help,” said senior Nate Burrell, a defensive end on the football team.

Funnily enough, Ms. Mel never imagined that she would end up as a teacher. She imagined that it wouldn’t be a good fit for her, even though both of her parents were professors. Yet, here at Bosco, she’s ended up teaching many Bosco students in the Sports Medicine Pathway. 

“I never, ever thought I would be a teacher. I never liked it, even though both of my parents are professors,” said Ms. Mel.

Despite not ever thinking that she would end up as a teacher, she has still done a great job.

“She really keeps the class engaged through her practical and hands-on teaching style,” said senior Michael Carbone, a member of the Sports Medicine pathway for all four of his years at Bosco.

Ms. Mel really does love the Bosco community, believing in the family-oriented mission of the school. And even though most Bosco students only know Ms. Mel as a teacher or an athletic trainer, she also enjoys spending time with her friends and has recently picked up the hobby of designing and handcrafts.