Either cooking for his family and friends, spending time in nature with his wife and daughter, surfing the waves, or teaching Spanish, you’ll be sure to find Señor Álvarez spreading joy and laughter in all aspects of his life.
While many students know him as the “mustache man,” Álvarez is so much more than his distinctive facial features. With this year being his first year teaching in the Lake Forest community, Álvarez has already received the opportunity to share his love for Spanish and vitality for life to students in Spanish 1, 3 and 4, having a total of five classes.
Señor Álvarez was born in Spain and lived there until 2011 until he and his wife (who he met a year prior) decided to move to the United States. Him and his wife had a long-distance relationship, and, after a year, they decided to move to the states to get married.
Before Álvarez moved to the United States, he was not a teacher. In fact, he studied Computer Science and worked in the graphic design and printing sector. Not only did Álvarez switch his career pathway when moving out of Spain, but he embraced himself with the challenge of learning English.
“I attended English classes at Truman College in Uptown Chicago. There, many of my classmates were Latinos who worked hard at night and went to school in the morning. After several classes, they “adopted” me as their teacher, but not in English, in Spanish. There, with my family’s encouragement, I decided that I could play a positive role in helping Latino students in Chicago improve their Spanish so they could transfer that knowledge into English,” Álvarez said.
After getting some experience with teaching a language to students, he decided that this could be something he could continue doing in his future.
Prior to teaching at LFHS, Señor Álvarez taught Spanish at Warren High School where he met Ms. Tengler, one of his colleagues at the time. Tengler, now a College Counselor here at LFHS, contacted Álvarez to inform him that LFHS had an opening for a Spanish teacher. While the selection and interview process was “intense and rigorous,” Álvarez ultimately achieved success.
Although the 2023-2024 school year would make this Álvarez’s eighth year as a Spanish teacher, he still felt anxious at the start due to being “worried about fitting in.” He also wanted to ensure that he was going to serve his new students and teach them to the best of his abilities.
Regardless of these nerve-wracking emotions, without a doubt, Señor Álvarez’s favorite part about teaching at LFHS has been his students.
“I have felt very welcome and all of my students are generally very respectful,” Álvarez said.
Not only does Álvarez appreciate his students, but they reciprocate the admiration for him as well.
“I have never had a more enjoyable Spanish class until this year. I really cannot think of a better teacher who knows how to balance learning while also having fun in class,” junior Joey Schnack said.
As supported by many of his students, Álvarez knows how to teach his students while also having an engaging class. However, he also looks out for the well-being of all of his students and makes sure to provide his greatest words of wisdom that students can take with them as they progress through life.
“In our unit about the college application process, I remember Señor told us all about how to save money during a time that can be extremely expensive. He told us all about scholarships and things he did during his college years and I can just tell that he only wants the absolute best for his students,” junior Anastasia Tegel said.
As much as Álvarez loves his life here in the United States, one thing he really misses about Spain is going surfing, a passion and fun fact that most people would not know about him. When coming to Illinois, he “quickly realized that Lake Michigan has no waves.”
While Álvarez works incredibly hard in order for his students to learn as much Spanish as possible with him as their teacher, his number one message for them to know is that it is always possible to start pursuing your ambitions.
“It is never too late to learn something new (a language, for example!) and try to fulfill those dreams that we all have forgotten a little or parked in the maelstrom of our stressed lives. ¡¡VIVA LA VIDA!!” Álvarez said.
