New IT assistant Mr. Angel DeJesus, who moved here from New York City, says one of the reasons he applied for a job here was for the chance to work with Hispanic students.
After nearly 30-year career working as a technician in the NYC school system, he and his wife decided to move to Myrtle Beach. Born in Puerto Rico, a big reason they came to South Carolina is because the Hispanic community here is growing.
He said when he interviewed for the job at Socastee, he was asked by an assistant principal, “What makes you different from everybody else?”
“I told him, ‘The person who came through that door can speak Spanish’,” he said. “I want to give back to the community of non-speaking students because that used to be me.”
He said one of his high school teachers helped him get his first job. He had been one of the top students in programming in high school.
“I went to college, came back, and bragged about my degree,” he said. “I was helped by one of my teachers to get the job. That’s how I got started with my career in IT.”
His goal is to also help students as much as he can.
“My goal is that you leave my office satisfied, and you can pass down to the next guy, ‘The IT guy, he’s a cool guy’,” he said. “I share that through my actions, not my words.”
He said students here are similar to students in New York. However, the environment is calmer here because of block scheduling.
“Here, you guys have 90-minute classes, but down there, it’s about 40 minutes,” he said. “The kids are in the hallways all day long.”
Outside of work, he likes playing the guitar and spending time with his family. He has four kids between the ages or 4 and 12.
He especially likes playing sports with his kids.
“My son loves baseball, football, you name it!” he said. “Every sport, he likes.”
He said he and his wife, Aida,a former NYPD detective, are excited to start a new chapter down south.
“We are both super excited to have moved and started a new journey in this great city of Myrtle Beach.”
