MEET THE ASPIRE TEAM

At Aspire we value all our team members. Our staff comes to Aspire with a desire to serve our students and are dedicated to the organization’s mission. They are focused on walking alongside our students from the beginning of their journey to the end. This month we meet Omar Valdez Rocha who joined Aspire in January 2022 as our ESL and Spanish Education Director.

Name: Omar A Valdez Rocha

Position at Aspire: ESL and Spanish Education Director

• What is your background? Family growing up. Where are you from? Have you lived in different cities?

I’m originally from Hermosillo, Mexico. I moved to El Paso, Texas after graduating from High School to learn English and go to university. I loved El Paso and it loved me back. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to that city and its people. I have also lived in many cities in the DFW area and in New Jersey. These places were very different from where I came from but very special in their own way.

• Growing up, what did you do for fun, hobbies? Do you have any hobbies now?

As a young person, I sang in the church choir in Mexico until I moved away. I also danced traditional Mexican dances for 3 years. I met some of my dearest and closest friends dancing. I also played volleyball, but I wasn’t very good. All my 4 brothers played. It was a good bonding activity since we are all so different. Today, I love learning languages. I am currently learning Portuguese (Olá!).

• Did you go to university or college? Field of study?

I completed a Master’s Degree in Modern Languages at UTA.

• What were you like as a student?

As a child, I was very responsible and well-behaved. As an adult, I also loved being a student.  Learning and being in a class is one of my favorite things.

• What was your first job? Other jobs, current or past?

I sold newspapers at a street corner when I was 13. I did it for about a year until the newspaper I sold folded. Before becoming a teacher, I worked at a bus station and at restaurants. Before I joined Aspire, I was an adjunct professor and taught French at the University of Texas at Arlington. I also taught Spanish and French all over the metroplex.

         FUN FACTS

• Favorite quote:

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” -Cecil Beaton

• Your top 3 favorite Podcasts/Books:

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Persuasion – Jane Austen

The Blindfold – Siri Hustvedt

• Your top 3 favorite movies or television shows:

Volver by Pedro Almodovar

Red by Krzysztof Kieślowski

Our Little Sister by Hirokazu Kore-eda

        WORKING AT ASPIRE

• When did you begin working for Aspire (LIFT or ABERG)?

In January 2022.

• What do you like best about working at Aspire?

I love that Aspire is helping people in our local communities. Being part of this effort is the best part of working here.

• What makes you the proudest of our students?

They are people who want to better their lives and those of their families. I hope to help them reach their goals in any way I can.

Important Dates

• 03-04-2022
   National Grammar Day

• 03-14-2022 - 03-18-2022
   Spring Break

• 03-17-2022
   Saint Patrick's Day

• 03-31-2022
   Toast to Literacy Auction

• 05-26-2022
   Last Day of Spring Classes

• Fall 2022
   Legacy of Literacy Breakfast

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