Echo Spring 2023 - 41

instruction, comprehensive scholar
supports, cultural competency and
work-based learning. "
Alvarez said the majority of the student
body is Hispanic or Black, which was
one of several reasons he felt led to take
the position. " As a Hispanic man myself, "
he said, " that was one of the things that
compelled me. These are the future
leaders of America, these are my people. "
As he witnessed teachers coming
and going, he felt he " needed to do
something about it. That's why I decided
to step in. "
Born in New York but raised in the
Dominican Republic, Alvarez moved
back to the states following his
sophomore year of high school and
benefitted greatly from his English
as a Second Language (ESL) teacher,
Mrs. Dobos. He recalls her guidance as
" absolutely amazing, " and because of
her impact on him, he always had the
idea of becoming an ESL teacher tucked
away in the back of his mind.
Being able to utilize those language skills
now for kids who are going through
the same thing he went through as
a student is a full-circle moment for
Alvarez-one that he views as a blessing.
He enjoys the balance of being able
to converse back and forth with his
students in both Spanish and English, as
it provides a common background for
him to connect with them.
" I was an ESL student myself, so I kind of
feel when they're frustrated sometimes, "
Alvarez said. " I get it. I've been there.
[Seeing me as] a teacher, it could also
give them hope, because they're like,
'Hey, there's someone who's like me, he
speaks like me, he has the same culture
as me. If he can do it, I can do it.' "
Alvarez may have discovered a new
passion for teaching in the classroom,
but his love of sports still runs deep.
He was able to merge the two in 2021
when, alongside La Academia's athletic
director, he started the school's first
baseball team. The Leones squad saw
12 boys come out for the team last
year-10 of whom had never played
baseball before. This spring's season
was the team's first in the Pennsylvania
Interscholastic Athletic Association
(PIAA).
" I knew that for me, baseball was a big
impact, " said Alvarez, who was the LBC
Chargers' baseball first baseman for three
seasons. " I was OK in the classroom, but
baseball was the thing that actually kept
me motivated. "
Alvarez has found ways to connect
what his students are learning inside
the classroom to their efforts on the
baseball field. He has found that relating
the subjects he's teaching to a real-world
application helps it sink in better for his
students. " Math is in our everyday lives, "
he said. " For example, we can find the
mean by calculating the number of
hits per plate appearance, the slugging
percentage by calculating the total bases
divided by at-bat attempts, the distance
between bases and many more practical
applications. "
Although Alvarez did not originally plan
to build a career in the classroom, he
admits that it might have been in his
subconscious all along. Looking back at
his time at LBC, he tended to gravitate
toward volunteer opportunities that
involved helping kids, and he enjoyed
a Children's Literature class he took in
college.
Alvarez chose to attend LBC because
he wanted to surround himself with
classmates who had the same values
as him-students who wanted to grow
closer to Christ. And he has taken that
mentality from his role as a student to
his role now as a teacher and coach.
" As Christians, we do have the Ultimate
Teacher, " Alvarez said, " looking at Christ
as the Ultimate Teacher and making sure
we are loving, we are compassionate,
we are understanding, helping others at
all times. "
Find out the many ways to study Sport
Management at LBC | Capital-associate,
bachelor's, master's and fully online-at
lbc.edu/sport-management.
Those who were baseball fans in the late '70s might remember the 1979 World
Series Pittsburgh Pirates' theme song " We Are Family " by Sister Sledge. For baseball
coach Jacobo Alvarez ('19), teaching, sports and LBC is a family affair, too.
Jacobo's wife, Mekenzie, is a preschool teacher, and Mekenzie's brothers/Jacobo's
brothers-in-law, Austen ('20) and Tyler ('16) Smith, are both health and physical
education teachers at East Pennsboro High School in Enola, Pa. Austen's wife,
Hannah (Thompson '19) Smith, also teaches health and physical education at East
Pennsboro Middle School, and Tyler's wife, Aly (Kurtz '15) Smith is an LBC Early
Childhood Education graduate.
ECHO 41
43
http://www.lbc.edu/sport-management
Echo Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2023
