Spanish teacher Jose Madrid

The Red Ledger: What is your biggest advice for students?

Jose Madrid: My biggest advice would be to not see your life as so much as a single track from which you can’t deviate. So rather than getting caught in a rut [about a] master plan, I suggest you be open to all the possibilities because what you end up doing in the future might be very different then what you planned to do originally.

TRL: What do you wish you knew when you were our age?

JM: The importance of extracurricular activities. How important it is to start getting involved with more than one thing. Possibly even things you haven’t done before just to start getting some experience in what life is outside of just one zone. You might have other interests you haven’t discovered yet.

TRL: What are some experiences that changed your thinking from when you were a teenager that you think could be helpful for us right now?

JM: Well, that’s something a little bit unique for me because when I was a teenager, I didn’t care all that much about school. So my advice would be for those students who don’t care very much about school to realize that it does ultimately matter, and it’s not just a waste of time, even if it seems like one. Everything has consequences.