WBL with Mr. Paez
One of the people who is responsible for WBL at Comp Sci High is Mr. Paez. You might not know much about him, but he is so important for our school. I wanted to talk about why he matters.
What is WBL? WBL stands for work based learning. Work based learning is a huge part of the mission at Comp Sci High, and, heading into summer, you should know all about it — because it matters.
One of the people who is responsible for WBL at Comp Sci High is Mr. Paez. You might not know much about him, but he is so important for our school. I wanted to talk about why he matters.
Why WBL?:
Mr. Paez was originally a history teacher who loved working in a school environment but after years of working in the history field, he decided he wanted something new, so that's when he started his journey. Being a history teacher for so long made his skills very proficient. When people reached out to him for work, it was usually for a history teaching position, but luckily when Mr. Noah reached out to recruit him for Comp Sci High, Mr. Paez was able to express his desire of wanting something different, which got him into the WBL pathway for the first time. This was a good way to express his love for supporting kids on their journey and working with them.
Behind the Scenes:
Have you ever wondered how we are able to gain all these opportunities with such amazing organizations?
Well, this is all due to the Comp Sci High community — specifically the teachers, Mr. Noah, Ms. Alder, the board members, and, especially, the WBL team.
But, this is hard, because organizations think they want to work with students, but they don’t know how to work with students. They don’t always understand the various struggles of high schoolers in 2024. Knowing this, Mr. Paez works to get them ready. He learned that you have to fight for what's best for the students even if it means not working with them or pushing them for a better opportunity. He believes that it is important for students to let them into their lives to get the support they need.
Advice:
To those who have any interest in this career path here is what Mr. Paez has to say:
“When you come into this field, there will be a lot of responsibility. You have to take in account how accessible everything is for a wide range of students. You have to be ready to commit to waking up early in the morning, staying up late at night and working outside of hours to complete work (this is not an everyday thing). This field will allow you to let your creativity skills shine through when it comes to getting programs for the student. To get further into detail, there will be times when you are working with programs but things may not be working out the way you want, so think of it like a puzzle and piece together opportunities to make an amazing experience.”
Student Appreciations
I reached out to some students to ask if they could share what they appreciate about Mr. Paez. Here is what a few of them said.
“I like the fact that I’m able to talk to him about what goes on in my personal and professional life and being and being able to ask questions that allows me to understand that there is more to just having a job.”
“I like that we have a close enough relationship to go on trips together that will help me explore careers and schools.”
“I appreciate the fact that Mr. Paez takes time to help me build my resume, get recommendations, get internships, and get experience in the real world”
“I view him as someone who is really funny, genuine, and a role model. He is someone who helped me get many accomplishments, and I really value him for that”
Fun Fact:
During Mr. Paez's days at Boston University, he and his friends came up with this idea of partnering up with their local goodwill and starting an ugly sweater vest competition. This competition helped them support a charity. This competition became known as Sweater Best Thursday, which happened on campus. The person with the ugliest or wackiest sweater vest got featured on the website!