Mr. Bobby Garcia may have been new to our staff, but this wasn’t his first rodeo. Before arriving at Lincoln, this Houston native was a teacher at James Logan High School in Union City. His resume also boasts an impressive 16 years of previous teaching experience, and this year he takes on the challenge of leading several Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 classes.

As the first bell rang to signal the start of the 2015-16 school year, nearly two thousand people flooded the halls and began the semester anew. For many students and staff, this was a familiar experience. For others, however, it would be their first time gracing the walkways of Lincoln High school. Among the sea of unknown faces on campus was Mr. Garcia, a newcomer to the school’s math department. For Mr. Garcia, the best part of his job is simple.

“Favorite part about being a teacher is just being around the students,” he said. Mr. Garcia then proceeded to share a story about his own time as a student, and why he chose to become a teacher.

“I was in the Air Force for a number of years and I was taking a class in college through a junior college when I lived in Illinois, and I was in the military and I decided I didn’t want to stay in and… retire in the military and I liked the guy who taught. He seemed like he was having fun, I said that’s what I want to do, is to teach algebra. And I got out of the service and became a teacher.”

In addition to sharing his story, he also spoke about some of the factors in his decision to become a teacher at Lincoln, specifically.

“Why did I choose to work  at Lincoln? Because I like California, and I like San Jose, and I’ve wanted to work at San Jose Unified,” said Mr. Garcia.

All in all, Mr. Garcia is one of the many newly welcomed teachers at Lincoln High School. For now, he is unsure of what to expect this school year, but he is eager to see what Lincoln has to offer. “I see good morale here,” he said. “The activities are fun, the students are fun… I don’t have my own room right now, but I’m making it.”