|
Interview: Steven Alvarez
French philosopher and writer Marcel Proust was known for his witty answers to a series of intriguing questions, now known as the Proust Questionnaire. To learn more about our teachers in a unique way, the TC 5th graders took on the challenge of creating their own set of interview questions.
For this issue we had the honor of interviewing one of our Extended Resource Specialist: Steven Alvarez.
Background
Steven Alvarez is an amazing student support teacher at Thornton Creek! His favorite thing about TC is the expedition. He grew up in Albany, Oregon in a Hispanic family, and he has two current cats named Mighty Mo and Furry Murry. They are both huge Maine Coons!
Steven loves running and was passionate about it until he hurt his knee running marathons, so now he runs in duathlons which is running, biking. The most challenging thing he has ever accomplished was running up Mt. Constitution with his friend!
Steven’s favorite pastime is baseball, and his favorite team is the Oakland A’s. His favorite numbers are any odd number, and how could we forget his favorite colors purple and pink?
Now let’s talk food. Steven loves all things spicy but some of his absolute favorites are spicy pho, and Indian food! One of the best movies according to Steven is Rudy directed by David Anspaugh (1993). Have you ever read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio? That’s Steven’s favorite book. No wonder his hopes and dreams are to bring together people who need some help finding their superpower and talent.
Steven’s secret talent is working on trademarks and patents, and he really is an inventor. In conclusion Steven is an amazing person and we are lucky he is at our school!
Interview Questions
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I am Hispanic and I remember when I was a kid in elementary school my grandfather would play records, but then I did not like traditional Hispanic music There was a band called Los Lobos, and what was really cool about this band was they were all Hispanic and they were all high school kids. They didn’t like Hispanic music either, but in high school they started playing traditional Hispanic music and rock and roll. So around 4th grade I thought that was really cool, and to this day whenever they come to town I will go see them. The first thing I think about is my grandfather teaching me how to dance in the living room. So I would love to have a sit down with them to hear about their life story. Now, their songs are in all sorts of movies.
What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
The hardest thing I’ve ever done is a 25k run up Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island. It was called the Fat Bum run. I thought I was ready for it because months prior I had run a marathon – I’ve run over 10 marathons! – so I thought I was in shape for it. I ran with my buddy and we quickly realized that the 25k was 15 miles up a mountain! Some of the trails we had to use were billy goat trails because there was still snow on the mountain. My wife had running goo and drinks for us at what we thought was the half-way point and we were so excited to be there. But she was really only 4 miles into it. We thought, “Oh no! We’re not even halfway!” It was the hardest thing I had to do!
If you could choose another job besides teaching, what would it be and why?
I would say inventor. So teaching is my second career. I used to work for dot coms and I actually got to be around quite a few inventors back in the day. I got to see the Starbuck’s drink order stickers being developed. So now I reinvented a fidget and am working on a patent for it. I am crossing my fingers that it is going to market next year. This month we are hoping to finalize it through the invention process. I would love to just keep inventing.
What did you want to be when you were in 5th grade? Why?
I always wanted to be a basketball player. And I am not very tall, but I love to shoot hoops. My idol was a basketball player named Spud Webb and he was short. Maybe only 5’ 6” but he was so sprightly and he had so much energy and he was so fast. He was a great shooter.
What is the best thing you ever learned from a student?
The best thing is a different viewpoint. Everyone learns differently. You may hear that teachers do scaffolded teaching. It’s honoring each student at their own pace. So we try to meet each student where they are. Students let us know what they need and that maybe there is a different way to learn something. So the best thing I learned from working with different kids is about different perspectives.
Respectfully submitted,
Thornton Creek Interview Squad
Cassity Gray
Madelyn Hinerth
Emma Koivu
| 
