Spanish teacher Javier Garcia-Fernandez is leaving Trinity after one year of teaching to return home to Spain.
Garcia-Fernandez teaches Spanish 1B and Spanish Cinema for Conversation, as well as advises 7th grade students.
Garcia-Fernandez was born and raised in Murcia, Spain, where he also attended the University of Murcia. He moved to the United States in late July of 2019 to get a masters in Spanish from West Virginia University.
He then took a teaching assistant job before moving to Florida to work at Trinity.
Garcia-Fernandez is leaving Trinity after only one year of teaching, because he is homesick.
“I know it’s a very short time but honestly, I’m getting more and more homesick lately,” Garcia-Fernandez said. “Even though this is a really great opportunity, I feel as well that it’s not totally the best place for me.”
Garcia-Fernandez says that his decision is not based on Trinity, but is based on the fact that he misses his family and friends back in Spain.
“Everybody’s in Spain [and] I have some friends back in West Virginia, and some other places, but there are friends that I met here, and there are of course people that I cherish, but my goal is basically gonna develop more back where I grew up,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Garcia-Fernandez’s idea is to move back to Spain, as he wants to reconnect with his family and friends, as well as find an alternative job than teaching.
“I don’t totally close teaching in the future because it’s something that I think is really great,” Garcia-Fernandez said. “I will be more interested actually in teaching English in the future, because that was my main career.”
Although the school year isn’t over yet, Garcia-Fernandez’s favorite memory at Trinity so far is his chance to have gone to the Spanish Competition trip with the Spanish Honor Society.
“So far I really enjoyed when I got the chance to go to the Spanish competition trip with the Spanish Honor Society members, or not only the honor society, but some upper school Spanish students,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
