Kiahna Sales
With third trimester ending the school year, students walk around seeing faces and names they heard almost everyday, but they may have noticed a new and friendly face roaming around campus in a campus security golf cart or at the gate entries. Getting a “hi” as you walk by, or even getting a high-five with a warm welcome smile to the start of your day.
Photo Credit | Jenna Nicolas
After a lengthy search for a new campus security guard, MC is lucky to re-welcome former Sundevil Jonas Abalde to the patrol team.
“I was in their shoes at an early point in my life and being able to give back to the school that gave me an opportunity for the life I have is totally awesome. I’m living the dream,” Abalde said.
Abalde is an alumni student at MC that can connect to the students on a one to one level and understand them more than the other staff members can.
“It has been one of the enjoyable and rewarding experiences of my lifetime. I don’t think I would have dreamed about coming back to my old high school and be able to actually help out and mentor a lot of the students here,” Abalde said.
Back at his old high school, Abalde can see that the camaraderie throughout the school has become stronger..
“We have a student and community focus that is centered around those two things and we invest in the people. Invest in the students in the community,” Abalde said. “It’s something that can’t be talked about, you [have to] be a part of it to realize it. These are people that are really passionate about what they do and these students are gonna do big things in the future”.
Abalde has worked with other schools all of the Poway districts over his years but he feels that MC is different in many ways.
“This is probably my sixth school in ten years with the district, but you can really feel the difference when you work over here, not just because I was a former student, former athlete,” Abalde said. “Everyone is a team, the students love the teachers, the teachers love the students and many of the teachers love what they do for the students. That’s something I felt since I’ve been here”.
Although Abalde has been involved with other schools throughout the Poway district, he thoroughly enjoys being a part of the future generation that attends MC. He is committed to keeping the school and faculty safe from harm’s way and making a fun environment for the student to enjoy throughout their four years in high school.
