by Josue Sanchez, co-Editor-in-Chief

Mr. Joshua Hernández, alumnus of the St. John Bosco class of 2021, has returned to Bosco just three years later as an English teacher, bringing in a fresh perspective when teaching his freshman, sophomore and junior students.

Mr. Hernández’s Bosco journey started in 2017, when he passed through the school walls for the first time as a freshman. He said that he had a few options when it came to picking a high school—Loyola High School from Los Angeles being the main option. However, Bosco prevailed against the other options due to the sense of community here.

“When I toured here at Bosco, I felt at home,” said Mr. Hernández. “As soon as I toured Bosco, I went home and told my mom. I was like, ‘That’s where I’m going.’”

He noted that the interactions between students and teachers played a big role—the authenticity of these interactions were very important to him.

He also participated in a variety of the programs that Bosco has to offer. He participated in the Bosco Football team, the Spanish Honors Society, the Student Ambassadors program and, notably to him, the Academic Decathlon program. He even served as the Editor-in-Chief of this very publication, The Brave News. All of these experiences and activities served as learning experiences for Mr. Hernández, who stated that he grew in ways that he wasn’t initially expecting.

“I kind of look back and realize how much I grew each year at Bosco,” said Mr. Hernández. “It was a culmination of the experiences. Football brought me discipline. Academic Decathlon really broadened my world perspective, and [the Student Ambassadors program] taught me how to be personable with people.”

One of his recurring teachers as a student was Mrs. Michelle Tracy, a current teacher in the English Department. She taught him during his freshman and senior years.

“He was one of the best people as far as participating in class. Despite being at home [during the COVID-19 pandemic], he did make a lot of contributions to our discussions,” said Mrs. Tracy. “I appreciated that a lot because that was a hard time for us teaching online.”

After graduating from Bosco in May 2021, Mr. Hernández moved on, choosing to continue his studies at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. This was not his only option; he considered a variety of colleges, including the University of Connecticut, University of California, Berkeley and others. However, according to him, the final choice was motivated by many factors.

“I felt like I needed to be there for my family,” said Mr. Hernandez. “I could have easily made the decision to be selfish. I was really close to committing to [the University of Connecticut], but I felt like I had unfinished business here at home.”

At LMU, he met a variety of friends and continued his educational involvement in many ways.

“I was a Student Ambassador for two years, and I was the Vice President of two clubs,” said Mr. Hernández.

He was also a supervisor at the campus gym and continued to improve his writing capabilities as a tutor. Mr. Hernández’s most important takeaway from his time at LMU is the idea that not everyone learns in the same way.

“Growth is not linear; we all grow in different ways. I’m no different than any other college student who spends four to five years in college,” he said. “Growth is day-by-day, year-by-year, month-by-month, and I think what matters is that as long as you’re growing, you’re doing something positive.”

After two and a half semesters, Mr. Hernández graduated from LMU, majoring in Political Science with a minor in English Language and Literature.

Mr. Hernández’s original plan was to continue on to law school. However, becoming a teacher at Bosco was a great opportunity for him, and he felt that he should get involved with this vocation.

“When I was first approached about the job and about applying for it, I couldn’t pass it up,” said Mr. Hernández. “[St. John Bosco] is home to me. I feel extremely dedicated to the school and the community.”

The community and culture has remained relatively unchanged in his view. He still interacts with the same people and communities that he used to talk to as a student. Now, the only change is that he is a teacher, rather than a student—something which he originally did not expect.

“It feels almost like a simulation,” said Mr. Hernández. “It’s not really the fact that I’m still young—it’s also the fact that I never thought about teaching to begin with, nonetheless teaching at Bosco.”

His path, in his view, was unexpected—but one that he is willing to continue.

Mr. Hernández also plans to bring in his background as a student and political science major into his teaching. His experience at LMU has opened his eyes to the pressures and challenges faced by many students. All of these challenges, according to him, are unique, and he hopes to help each one of his students with them.

“Now, I have much more respect for teaching as a vocation and as a profession,” said Mr. Hernandez. “[My students] are kids with dreams, aspirations and temptations that they’re not always going to overcome.”

“I view students as actors, too. We are all actors within a classroom. We each have defined roles, but just because I am a teacher and have the expertise, while the students are just learners, that doesn’t mean we can’t all contribute.”

“He involves certain events that we’re familiar with,” said student Tucker Dodson, a student in one of Mr. Hernández’s freshman English classes. ”He is really just a very chill teacher, and I really enjoy his class.”

Mr. Hernández has also been interested in the language arts from the very beginning—he loves to write and read, even helping his peers and family with any questions they have. As a teacher, he hopes to develop these skills amongst his students.

“I just want them to be critical thinkers, especially with the world that we live in today,” said Mr. Hernández. “People are very misinformed, misguided, immoral, unprincipled. And so I want [my students] to walk out of my class in a way that they can challenge not just their own views, but the views of the people around them and do it in a manner that is educated and that is back up by fact, not just hearsay or fiction or stuff that’s in their head.”

“I think he really takes seriously what he’s doing,” said Mrs. Tracy. “I know that he’s been very thoughtful in his planning and trying to do the best job that he can, and I think he feels comfortable here at Bosco.”

The way he teaches also emphasizes the abilities of his students. He emphasizes a no devices environment in his classes, ensuring that his students can learn to be better thinkers, writers and readers. He emphasizes a tough-love environment in order to help his students improve.

“If they’re talking in class, I’ll be hard on them,” said Mr. Hernández. “That’s the type of mentorship and leadership that these guys need in their life.”

“They also know that I’m there for them. I don’t want them to struggle. I want them to just have a good high school life.”

by Nels Nelsen

Dr. Francesca Po, a University of Oxford graduate and theology teacher, recently became St. John Bosco High School’s new Coordinator of Youth Ministry (CYM) after the school had not had one for almost a year.

Her job entails overseeing the spiritual formation of the school, which includes the faculty, staff, students as well as parents to make sure everything is on par with the Salesian spirituality.

“My title is Coordinator of Youth Ministry, which is kind of like an assistant principal of spiritual formation, but [CYM is] specifically the Salesian title for that role,” said Dr. Po.

She has a PhD in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Oxford in England, and her research focuses on why people leave the church.

“A lot of the findings that I have I’m taking into this job. It transfers well to this job because you want to make sure that students continue to identify with the church and continue to love the church as much as we have and that we counteract the reasons that I found of why people leave the church,” Dr. Po said. “We want to make sure that everybody maintains that direct spirituality with God.”

One of the main reasons that Dr. Po found out why people leave the church is that they feel alienated by the church in some way. They feel rejected maybe because of their sexuality, or they feel rejected because they feel different in  some way. Because there are people in the church that may make them feel alienated or rejected, many do not identify with the church anymore.

The interesting thing to Dr. Po is that even if people leave the church, they do not lose their connection with God. They maintain their faiths, morals or beliefs. It is the institution and specific individuals within it that they were against.

“If the church takes a more inclusive route, that’s really what people resonate with in all kinds of spirituality,” said. Dr. Po.

In addition to her Phd, Dr. Po also received a master’s degree from Oxford and another master’s degree from San Francisco. It was difficult, but she was someone who always did well in school, being a valedictorian in high school. The real challenge was pursuing a PhD from Oxford, her dream school. In the end, Dr. Po knew it was worth it.

The part that made getting her PhD hard was transitioning from the American education system to the English education system. A lot of this adjustment revolved around Dr. Po being a very artistic writer, while the PhD required more straight forward, technical writing and research.

Dr. Po’s personal relationship with God has been the most consistent thing in her life. God has been speaking to her as long as she could remember. Dr. Po has been following what God has been guiding her to through the grace of the Holy Spirit. She feels God has led her to this role as CYM at Bosco.

She strives to be as inclusive as possible to all different kinds of people, because a good leader displays those qualities. She values that everyone should feel loved and included.

Her influences that guided her on her spiritual journey with God are her immediate family. Other early spiritual influences would be her parish priest and Cardinal Roger Mahony. 

In college, there were a lot of spiritual teachers from different faiths that really opened Dr. Po’s heart, mind and soul to different expressions of God.

Mr. Joseph Griffin, the Chair of the Theology Department and a teacher at Bosco for 35 years, believes that Dr. Po is a great pick for CYM. Dr. Po went through an interview process, and Mr. Griffin was a panel member in that interview.

“She’s highly intelligent. She has personal charisma. She has a lot of experience in Catholic education, and I think she’s a very good fit,” said Mr. Griffin.

He also states that besides Dr. Po’s intelligence and charisma, some other good qualities are that she is a very pleasant person, not threatening or intimidating and very welcoming to anyone that wants to engage in discussion or participate in any activities that she is arranging.

“She is not doing the whole job by herself. She has a Campus Minister to rely on,” said Mr. Griffin.

The Campus Minister supporting Dr. Po is Mr. Sergio Esparza, who comes from St. Joseph’s High School and will also be teaching four theology courses on campus.

Due to the vacuum left last year by the previous CYM leaving midway through the first semester and never being replaced, Mr. Griffin is very pleased to have a new and committed CYM in place.

Senior Diego Salcedo is one of the student leaders on the Campus Ministry team. He was involved in Campus Ministry last year and believes that Dr. Po has set a good tone for the year thus far. He thinks reinstituting a CYM this year will improve Campus Ministry, as there will be more people on the job and people that are dedicated to it.

Diego said communication with Dr. Po has been great. She always willing to try new things, and he always tries to find creative ways to bring the faith to students.

Diego would like to add that the Campus Ministry team is always trying to find more students to join and help spread Christ’s love on Bosco’s campus.