9. In His Own Time: The Eric Salcedo Timeline to Triumph

Imagine the challenge of transferring to a new school district for high school, constantly trying and struggling to fit in. Now, imagine transforming that mindset, rising above adversity, and embarking on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth. This is the story of our guest, Eric Salcedo, a proud alumnus of Santa Ana Unified School District. Eric's tale is a testament to resilience and determination, shaped by the indelible influence of his custodian father, his struggles in school, and the profound impact of a young substitute teacher's message that forever altered his attitude towards education.

Eric's journey has been anything but conventional. From working in a heart catheter factory and a solar panel factory to becoming a quality control inspector at an aerospace company, he's done it all. However, the compass of his life always pointed towards his roots at SAUSD. Listen as he recounts his career pathway, reflecting on the importance of security, opportunity, and the courage to step outside one's comfort zone. Eric's experiences offer invaluable lessons, highlighting the significance of embracing challenges and seizing every opportunity.

Wrapping up our conversation, Eric opens up about the people who have significantly shaped his journey. His wife, an unwavering pillar of support, and a former supervisor, who saw potential in him when others did not. Eric holds the belief that every individual operates on their unique timeline, shaped by their unique experiences. His story of resilience, determination, and perseverance is a beacon of hope for many. So, join us on this extraordinary journey of Eric Salcedo and get inspired to step outside your comfort zone.

Visit us at our Buzzsprout site for more ways to listen, links to our social media sites and any referenced materials, and complete transcripts of our full-length episodes: https://bit.ly/SAUSDAmplifyingLeadership

Transcript

Bianca Barquin: 0:07

Welcome back to another episode of SAUSD's Amplifying Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Bianca Barquin. Today, we have a truly special guest, a man whose story embodies resilience, determination and the power of taking chances. He's a proud alumnus of Santa Ana Unified School District and a beacon of hope for many students who have faced similar struggles. Let's dive into the inspiring journey of Eric Salcedo. Eric, I am so excited to have you on our podcast today, and I would love to dive right into questions. So can you describe what it was like growing up in SAUSD and how did this environment shape you?

Eric Salcedo: 0:53

Hi Bianca, thank you very much for having me. Well, I started very early actually, when I came to SAUSD. My dad is a custodian here and he still is a custodian for over 20 years. When I was, I want to say, 11 years old, I would come home from school, from elementary school, and I would tell my mom hey, mom, can I go with my dad? Because he works two jobs until this day. He worked two jobs then and he works two jobs to this day and I would go and ask my mom, if I can, can I go with my dad, go work with my dad? Actually, yeah, you know, you got to finish your homework, do your work and then I can go drop you off. And we lived right across the street from the Santa Ana Zoo. It was somewhat of a drive, but not too far. So every chance that I could, I would go and work with my dad. He'd have me do the small stuff, take out the trash from the classrooms and make sure the doors were locked and stuff. But of course he would go back and check them himself, because an 11- year old, you checking doors and stuff. But yeah, I did that just to spend time with my dad, but I was going to Tustin schools and came here when I was in eighth grade and it was different. It was different, that's for sure. Even I want to say oh, I think two weeks ago I ended up going back to my old middle school that I went to because they have this event called Tustin Tiller Days and it's a fair that they have on their grounds, and being there brought back some memories. The school still looks the same and whatnot, but the nostalgia came back. But to be honest, I love Santa Ana Unified School District.

Eric Salcedo: 2:28

As soon as I came it was different. One of my first experiences that I had was I came here for summer school and then I went into eighth grade. But one of the first experiences I had was trying to meet friends, which was really hard to do. You know, I was the kid that came from a different district and as the years went by in schools and stuff, I would see those kinds of kids come over as well. They all... a different state or a different county.

Eric Salcedo: 2:56

I forgot this one kid's name. He came from Chicago, but immediately I tried to be his friend because I know exactly how he felt. You feel like an outsider, you really do. You have these friends that you've had since elementary school here and I didn't have that here. I had that back in Tustin.

Eric Salcedo: 3:13

So that experience was pretty hard on a kid and the reason why I had to move is because we got kicked out of our apartments. I want to say it was my fault, but we would mess around with the security guard and stuff like that, not like being mean to him or anything like that. We were just like tease him, like hey, because there was curfew and we would gather a bunch of kids and stuff like hey, let's play hide from the security guard, and I guess we were the ones that he recognized all the time. So, yeah, we got evicted. My brother and I got evicted. I got us evicted but, like I said before during the conversation earlier, we had everything happens for a reason and I don't think that I would be in the position that I am today if stuff like that didn't happen to me in the past.

Bianca Barquin: 4:04

So I know, Eric, that you transitioned to SAUSD when you were in eighth grade. That is a tough time to move and I know you focused a lot on making friends. I've heard you tell me before, when we've talked, that you weren't exactly the student who loved to sit in the front of the class and was really focused on instruction and paying attention to the teacher. So what emotions were you wrestling with during those times and where did you find yourself sitting in a classroom and why?

Eric Salcedo: 4:38

Well, at the very beginning, the easiest friends for me to make were, of course, the bad ones, and what I mean by that is they were more of accepting and told hey... just come over here and stuff. But one person that I do remember, that was my friend from the very beginning. His name was Christian Medrano. That was his name and he immediately was like hey, come over here, come hang out with me and stuff like that. And of course, like I said, they were kind of the bad friends, but we were getting into some stuff. But as a kid sitting in the back and whatnot, just like any other kid, now we feel like we know it all, we feel like we are invincible. Then we're not. To be honest, we really aren't. We feel like anything that anybody tells us that's not going to happen. We brush that off very, very easily because we have too much going on. There's too much going on with schools, with our friends. Oh, hey, we're going to go do this, we're going to do that. That's more important, that was more important.

Bianca Barquin: 5:40

So you were considered, well... one, you were hanging around folks you said that possibly you shouldn't have been hanging around with, or you know, making friends and just trying to socially connect with people, especially transitioning in eighth grade. But I hear that you were one of the cool kids in school. Were you?

Eric Salcedo: 6:01

Cool, tried to be, right? And that's the thing, try to be cool. So, you know, I wanted to show everyone I fit in. You know, make a name for myself. So I began to, you know, act out. You know, interrupt class, be the class clown. And I guess it was the attention that I was getting from everybody. It's like, oh, you know, Eric, he's so funny and what that was was what drove me and that's why I would, you know, decide not to pay attention, even though you know, my parents taught me right. And you know, every single time my parents dropped me off from school, they're like hey, you know, you know, échale ganas. You know, give it your all and learn. But that was that was completely different as soon as I walked through that, those gates of school.

Bianca Barquin: 6:50

So, and that, and that's what I mean. At the time, you thought you were being cool because you were really trying to socialize and we understand. There was an instance that you've talked to me about before and I want you to be able to share it with our listeners that was a changing point in your educational career, right? So there was a point where, where things went in a completely different direction and, honestly, it was related to a substitute teacher that you had at one particular point in time, and you tell us that story and what was it that the substitute did or said that made you think about the world differently?

Eric Salcedo: 7:29

So I honestly wish I could remember his name. But, just like every other teacher that we had, every teacher cared right. They showed, they cared. They were always on you, they were always on me and then they were always like hey, come on, Eric, let's come on, do your work, do your work, do your work, do your work. Nobody's going to do this once you're out of school. Nobody's going to do this, nobody's going to be behind you. If you go to college and no one's going to be behind you to do your work, it's all on you, it's all based on you.

Eric Salcedo: 7:54

But the thing about this substitute teacher was he was young. I want to say he was very young. I want to say maybe he was in, he was 20... 27, I would say at the time. And we would, we would mess around in that class and just because he was a substitute, we would mess around and it was us in the back, not caring and whatnot and throwing papers and not paying attention. And he would always tell us to quiet down and tell us hey be quiet, please. Those that want to learn, let them learn. Then one day he came in and he said we're going to do things differently today, it was everybody that wants to learn, please sit in the front, and everybody that doesn't, please sit in the back.

Eric Salcedo: 8:43

So you know, hey, they gave us the freedom to do so. So we decided to sit in the back and have a grand old time. We started making noise and we started being disruptive and he said hey, you know, can you guys please quiet down? I had a friend then that you know responded in a very disrespectful manner that I can't say on here. But after that he told us he goes hey, if you guys don't want to learn, that's fine with me, that's on you. I'm here to do a job. If you're going to stop me from doing that job, you know, by all means, but don't interrupt these students that actually want to learn and want to progress. You know, if you don't want to learn, that's between you and your parents. So that's something that you have to later on in life deal with. Right now you don't care. And that stuck with me till this day, and what I feel he was really trying to say is I don't have time for you. That's pretty much what he was trying to say.

Eric Salcedo: 9:42

He gave off this energy. Like you know, that's your problem, not mine. He wasn't going to let us affect him emotionally, physically, if any. But yeah, that still sticks me to this day because the energy that he was giving off was something that I've never seen in somebody. Every other substitute would react the way we wanted them to react, right? They got... angry. Oh you guys, blah, blah, blah, blah. Ha ha ha, we got you. We got you to that point. We broke you. But not this guy. He didn't break. He was more on the offensive, more than the defensive, and to this day, I'm actually just the way he is. If you don't have good energy towards me, I don't want you around me. If you bring no value to me, then why would I have you with me? And yeah, I don't give anybody the time of day, and neither did he.

Bianca Barquin: 10:38

Thank you for sharing that. I really appreciated it and it's good to hear that somebody not reacting emotionally to what you were doing as students at the time and reacting in a different way which is something that we as educators have to think about all the time really changed it for you and changed your mindset and how you were thinking about your schooling. I do know that it got to a point where you realized that you were not going to be able to graduate on time as you progressed, right, being a few credits shy of graduation. How difficult was that for you, because I know how close you are to your parents and I mean you talked about your dad and being with him when you had to let them know that you weren't going to graduate, when they thought that you were going to graduate.

Eric Salcedo: 11:31

That day was pretty rough, the day I had to tell them and just like any other parent that's came to this country to give their kids a better lifestyle and their family a better lifestyle, it hurt and I'll always remember the look on my parents' face. Throughout the years, they told me you need to get it together, you need to get it together, you need to think about your future and whatnot. And, like I said before, we knew it all, right? I knew it all. There was nothing that could stop me. There was nothing that could affect me in this way. But what really affected me was the look on my parents' face that I will never forget. It was like the last nail in the coffin. It was like they had this sadness in their eyes like I just committed a crime and I'll be put away forever and it's like the look was like they've given up on me and that hurt. It really did. It really did. I have never felt so disappointed in my life until that day.

Eric Salcedo: 12:30

So, I decided to make a change in myself after that. I started passing all my classes. The following year I think this was my junior year I started doing all my classes and I did end up going to some of Centennial classes to finish. I did try to do some after school programs and whatnot to finish, and then throughout my senior year, when I finished I was still five credits short and it hurt because I did put all this work in and I still didn't reach the goal that I wanted to. But in the end I knew it was my fault because in the earlier years I was a completely different person and I feel like throughout the years of getting older, through high school and even till now, we gain more knowledge and experience every year, and every year we're better. Every year we're better. We're all here first time. Everyone's here for the first time. My parents are here for the first time. We only get one shot at this and they're just trying to help and show me with what they know.

Eric Salcedo: 13:40

But another thing about that what really changed me was I actually went to the graduation of my year and I saw the parents. I saw the look in their eyes, the joy that they had in their eyes. That should have been me, that should have been my parents, and I feel like I stole that from them because I was careless. I went to a graduation party and the same thing I saw the parents there, you know, happy as can be, and my parents are at home, you know? I should be at home. Why am I at a party, a graduation party? It was for my friend, but I should have been having my own party, and that's what really hit me too.

Bianca Barquin: 14:23

Thank you for sharing that, and what I really appreciate, though, is the change in mindset in your resiliency, right? For you to work so hard to overcome, because it's a lot of work to do that, and to be only five credits shy shows that you were on the right path. Yes, you didn't get those five credits down in time for graduation, but you were on the road back right? You were back on track. So, from there you went to Chavez High School, right?

Eric Salcedo: 14:56

No, I went to summer school for Valley.

Bianca Barquin: 15:01

So tell me more about how you made up those five credits and what happened.

Eric Salcedo: 15:06

So it was actually kind of embarrassing, because here I am, I'm supposed to be a graduated senior, but I'm not, because I'm missing five credits. I was a super senior in a freshman class, a freshman, yeah, a freshman class trying to make up five credits World history it was, I remember. A nd it was, it was disappointing and this is when I realized, like, what am I doing with myself? What am I doing? I need to be different, because I finished the work way before everybody did, and what I mean by that is I knew the answers. I knew the answers to this stuff.

Eric Salcedo: 15:48

It's just my actions then and my carelessness then didn't allow me to do that. So I actually finished summer school. It was two or three weeks earlier because my teacher would come up to me and he's like, hey, I know you finished your work and we still have half the day to go. Do you want tomorrow's work? And I said, if I can have it, yes, I will, I'll do that, because I can't let you leave. So I finished three weeks early and they actually let me leave, and a few weeks later I received my diploma. So that was interesting and, like I said, it was very disappointing that I knew this stuff, but just the fact that I wanted to show off and be cool and whatnot put me in that position.

Bianca Barquin: 16:36

So we have just had our first summer graduation, right, our first summer graduation in a long time. We had had them before, but hadn't had them for a while and we asked you to be able to speak and give a speech and tell your story. How did it feel to talk in front of all of those students and to have the ability to inspire them with your story, knowing that they were in similar situations?

Eric Salcedo: 17:08

Well, I never thought that I would be in front of an auditorium full of parents and students. And when Celeste came up to me during our walkthrough at Top 100, at Guarantee Chevrolet, she said hey, I'm thinking about doing a summer school graduation ceremony. What do you think? I looked at her and I said absolutely, let's do it. She goes oh, that was very fast. Like why did you say yes? I said because I'm a summer school graduate and I don't know why,

Eric Salcedo: 17:42

but when I graduated, they had a ceremony for us and I'm wondering why, since I started working here, I've been wondering why we don't have those anymore. She goes well, this will be the first one. I'm like, well, I don't think so, because I had a ceremony myself with every school and some of my friends that were summer graduates as well, and I have some friends that did graduate that year and throughout the summer that have gone and are doing great things with their life now, and my message I wanted to get across was just because you hit a small bump on the road, one of many, it's not something you can't overcome. You can do whatever you inspire yourself to be. You can go out and do the exact same thing those that graduated during the regular graduation ceremony. You could still do it.

Bianca Barquin: 18:36

Thank you. Now tell me what happened after graduation and how you ended up working for SAUSD in the position you're in now. I want you to tell us the story of what happened right after graduation, where did you work, and tell us your experiences and what led you to come back home.

Eric Salcedo: 18:58

So I first started working at Burlington Coat Factory and I started there as an... in shoes. They had this issue with the shoes of...

Eric Salcedo: 19:11

It was just so unorganized and I guess it was my OCD, my little OCD that I had that I was like, no, I do not like this, I need to do something about it. And I just started adjusting and creating and making it mine, in other words. So I know exactly where to go, if somebody asked me a question, I know exactly where to take them, what I want and what not. So I think that's where I started my, I guess, skills I would say skills in life because at one point at Burlington we had four people out on four different departments and I was the only one, I guess, that came in. So I had to run around and actually help everything and in a way I kind of liked the chaos. I really did because it kept me busy and I don't know what it is about chaos, but something about chaos that you just want to control it and make sure that everything's gonna come out well. My manager was actually very impressed because I was helping out this customer while I was going out to do this customer and then with this customer over here. But that was a short two years.

Eric Salcedo: 20:15

After that I went into an agency and I started working at a place called St. Jude Medical. It was a heart catheter manufacturing factory and I started off there in the shipping department sanitizing the plastics that the heart catheters go in and even the heart catheters themselves. We would have to completely gown down. No hairs, no, nothing. All skin was covered. So I think I want to say, maybe a few weeks into that my supervisor came up to me and he goes hey, would you be interested in doing a quality control inspection? And I'm like I have no idea what that is. And he goes well, you just test the catheters and make sure that they're working. I said, um, yeah, sure, I'll give it a shot. He goes it's good for your resume and it's more money. I'm like well, I'm up for more money, I told him, you know I was, I wasn't liking the pay I was getting then, but it was more than what I was making at Burlington and it was way more than doing the quality control inspection.

Eric Salcedo: 21:17

So I started off with a gentleman there, his name was Harold, Howard, sorry, not Harold, Howard. Howard immediately took me under his wing and he helped me out throughout the entire process. He showed me how to do what this machine does, what that machine does. Hey, while you're doing this, you know you can connect these two, it's... you know. And then I actually got really good at it. I got really good at it. I was I was testing a whole tray, what I mean by tray is I think they would have about 10 catheters per tray and the goal was, you know, you got to do at least like 30 to have the quota, to meet the quota for the day, and I was actually doing 40. I actually got really good at the chaos of connecting this one to that one and then go run around this one and do that one and this, I make sure, write it down and and whatnot. So I got, I got really good at that.

Eric Salcedo: 22:07

And then after that I went into an electric company called Schneider Electric and I guess I was making the main power boards from the solar panels. They go into that and they get, I guess, I guess it gets converted, but there was a quota on that that I had to do as well, and I was actually outpacing the person behind me and I don't think she liked that, because I think I got fired for that. I think I was doing too good of a job because nobody else was putting out those numbers. So you know, more complaints came, I guess, of me, and I was, I was let go. My last job was for a aerospace company. I was a quality control inspector there for the, the bolts and screws of the planes and I did that for, I want to say, maybe about three years. And that one was interesting too. That was from three in the afternoon to one thirty morning, with overtime of course.

Bianca Barquin: 23:02

So how did all of those experiences lead you back to SA USD? And clearly I mean you're able to talk about how you quickly picked up, in every position that you were in, the skills, the knowledge, the disposition necessary to be successful and to actually get the work done. So when did you come back to SA USD and what did you learn in those previous positions that helped you get to where you are today?

Eric Salcedo: 23:35

I came back to SAUSD in 2016 as a substitute custodian. It was the last job that I had that made me realize what I was doing, because, you know, I had previously bounced from this job to this job, and now this job, and now I'm here. I was having a conversation with one of the workers there that I've he's pretty much been there his entire life, making whatever he was making, and I thought to myself, well, is this something that I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life? You know, it wasn't like a nice place to be, because it was, it was machinery everywhere. You smelled it. You smell the oil in the air, you see it on the ground, you know, and it's a easy place to either get sick or to slip and fall. And you know, there goes your entire career, there goes, in other words, your life, because some injuries, you know, keep you from doing a lot of things.

Eric Salcedo: 24:21

But there was a guy there that worked for that company for 55 years. One week they announced that he was going to retire. The night before his retirement day, he was struck and killed by a car. So that made me realize like, hey, if I continue to do this, if I continue doing these jobs, this is gonna be my life. And the previous year s my father would ask me like hey, Eric, you know, come work for the school district, come work for me to substitute custodian. Like, I don't think I want to do that. You know, I found it kind of embarrassing. You know, I'm gonna be cleaning up toilets, I'm gonna be cleaning up classrooms and whatnot but they got to that point of me witnessing that and seeing that, you know, the guy was very loved by everybody there that worked there and I said you know what? I think it's time for me to do something different, something more secure, I would say. And my dad was like, you know, you can do many things in the district. You know, you can start off as a custodian, you can go into management, you can do a lot of things, and I didn't see that in those other jobs. I really didn't and I don't really see opportunity because the guys that I would talk to they're like oh, I've been here for 34 years doing the same thing. I'm like you never want to go to management?

Eric Salcedo: 25:44

So I came in 2016 as a substitute custodian and, just like at my previous jobs, I just went crazy. I started mapping out my route. I started, you know, okay, what time are these classrooms busy with the Engage 360 program, what restrooms can I do, and so forth. So I got really good at it and I got to the point where my dad's like, hey, you know, if you want to continue working, you know, go to your manager and tell him hey, you know my name is Eric and if you ever need me, this is my phone number. You can please call me and I'll be available for you. And they took that very seriously. And I was getting called left and right. I had a custodian call me almost every day and asked me if I was working. And if I was, he told me to call the manager and tell him no, come work over here with me, I need you, because he liked the way I worked.

Eric Salcedo: 26:33

But over the years I did acquire a lot of skills and just also, too, based off of what I saw. So I started applying that here. I started applying everything that the customer service that I got from Burlington because I had to deal with a lot of customers. I had to learn how to talk to them, how to learn how to talk to very specific people and higher ups that would come and visit. And then through St. Jude Medical, I learned you know, the responsibility of having such a high position, because quality control inspector was the highest position that you could be there and you know, just going from literally the shipping department to there, there was a lot of responsibility that I had to take on. And I started doing that and I started applying that here.

Bianca Barquin: 27:16

Amazing. So tell me, Eric, what are you doing now?

Eric Salcedo: 27:21

So right now I'm in the department of the SPART team, and the SPART team was something that Mr. Camberos, Gabriel Camberos, was working on for quite some time, and I don't know how, but I got picked up by Mr. Camberos. One day I was at a school site and they're like hey, you know, I was there for three weeks and on the second week they called me like hey, Eric, you will be reporting tomorrow to Building Services. And I was like, ok, am I in trouble or something, or what is going on, and they're like no, you're going to be reporting, reporting with another gentleman who is now a custodial manager, JJ Gonzalez, Mr. John Gonzalez, and we started off doing furniture pickups and stuff. And we would pick up the furniture and take it to the warehouse that we have here next door and we would try to separate the good furniture from the bad furniture and try to offer it to other schools and whatnot. And it's like, hey, we have these many desks, do you need it? Yeah, we do need it. Ok, we're going to take them over to you.

Eric Salcedo: 28:25

So that's how it started off with, just so far, just me and JJ, but there was other people before me, but I guess you could say that it was more finalized through us, but it has grown now, it has grown. It was n't a position before and, thanks to Gabriel, he was able to make it a position, and it was something that I loved because, like I said, the chaos, it was chaos. Go over here, go over there and go do this, go do that. We've got to take care of this, we've got to do this. Yeah, no problem, boss, I'm on it, you let me know, I'm on it without hesitation. And now it's gotten to the point where we're helping with the graduation setups and whatnot, and I honestly can't, I can't wait to see where else this goes, because I, like I said, never in a million years did I ever think I was going to be behind the scenes of a graduation.

Bianca Barquin: 29:15

Not one graduation, but many graduations, and we are a large district. So tell our listeners what SPART stands for. Maybe that will be helpful for them.

Eric Salcedo: 29:26

It stands for Special Projects Asset Retention Team.

Bianca Barquin: 29:31

Awesome. Thank you for sharing, Eric. I know that you talk a lot about the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone. Can you share a recent instance where you've done just that, you've been stepping out of your own comfort zone?

Eric Salcedo: 29:48

Yes, actually, and that was during our summer school graduation. I never thought that I'd be in front of students and parents. And my wife, I told her that they asked me if I could be a keynote speaker. And she was like, well, I hope you're going to do it. And I looked at her and I'm like, well, what do I tell them? She's like, well, tell them your story, you know, tell them what you went through. And I'm like, yeah, but that's not, that doesn't sound important. It's like it may not be important to you, but it might be important to somebody else. So then I took some time to really think about it and, you know, I wish somebody came up to me with the same experiences that I was going through right during my graduation.

Bianca Barquin: 30:33

So, Eric, the quote you shared about everyone working on their own timeline when you gave the speech during our summer graduation is powerful. Tell me a little bit more about that and why that quote is so meaningful for you.

Eric Salcedo: 30:51

So that quote actually came across on TikTok and I felt like it was very powerful to share. And the reason is because nowadays we all have phones and we have these people that post up, you know, sometimes are false things, right, tha hey, you know, by 30 you should be here, by 22 you should be here. And it pressures everybody into this depression, I want to say, or anxiety of, hey, you have to be here, you're behind, you're behind, you're behind. It's like no, you're not behind.

Eric Salcedo: 31:25

Life comes at you the way it comes at you, and you know, just remember, it's never the destination, it's the journey. You know, it's always the journey. You can get to that destination real quick. But where is the fun in that? You know it's these experiences that life gives you that makes up who you are and what you want to become. And this whole social media thing you know, I have social media, to be honest, and I did get at some point in my life like, oh man, I should not be where I am or I would put myself down, in other words. And that's their journey. Why are you worried about their journey? You know, if that's something that you want to do, then okay, use it as motivation, but don't let it put you down. Don't let it put you down because most of the time, most of these people are just, you know, showing off false things, false realities, false, they're false idols. Another thing, too, is they try to tell you that it's easy. It's never easy. Nothing in this world that's worth having is easy to get.

Bianca Barquin: 32:25

I love that. So compelling for me. Two things that you said so important: everyone is on their own timeline and we have to honor and respect that. And you also said it's not just about the destination, it really is about the journey, and that's something we should focus on. Okay, last question I have for you before we get to our Amplifier Acknowledgement segment. What's next for you, Eric? What are you thinking about now?

Eric Salcedo: 32:56

I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm more of a roll with the punches kind of guy. Of course, you know I want the best for myself and I want the best for my wife, my family, but just like we go back to the timeline, you have to let it come to you. I mean, yeah, if you want something, go out and get it, but if you feel lost, then just go ahead and continue doing what you're doing and life will come to you. That's pretty much how I am and, honestly, being on this podcast was never in my cards. Speaking in front of students and parents was never in my cards. Being in the position that I am at this job was never in my cards. Everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for a reason, good and bad.

Bianca Barquin: 33:42

I love that. Thank you so much. Now, before we sign off, it's time for our Amplifier Acknowledgement segment. So, Eric, if you could amplify the message or lesson of an educator, leader or anyone who's made a significant impact in your journey, who would it be and what was that impact?

Eric Salcedo: 34:05

I would say I would have two people in my life. Number one is my wife. She has always pushed me to be the person that she knows I can be. She pushed me for the graduation speech. She was on me every day. Are you going to do it? Are you going to do it? Did you decide it? Are you going to do it? And she has always, always, always, always, supported me in anything that I do or anything that I've done. She will always support me in everything that I would inspire to do.

Eric Salcedo: 34:38

And then the second person is my boss, Mr. Gabriel Camberos. From the very beginning, since I started, he has pushed me as well to do and to be the person that he knows that I can be. And to this day, he tries to make me the better person in every situation. He tries to teach me everything that he can possibly teach me, and through what I get through those messages is you could be whatever you want to be as long as you want it for yourself. And as soon as you want it for yourself, that's when your journey begins.

Bianca Barquin: 35:21

I love it. Thank you, and a huge thank you for being here today and powerful acknowledgements, but I also want to congratulate you because I know today is your anniversary. So congratulations to you and your beautiful wife. Eric, your journey is a testament to the fact that it's not about how you start, but how you choose to continue and finish. Your story is a beacon of hope and a vivid reminder that every student has their unique timeline and they all deserve patience, understanding and unwavering support. We're immensely grateful to have had you on our Amplifying Leadership Podcast today, sharing your heart, your wisdom and your journey. Thank you for reminding us about the power of stepping out of your comfort zones, the importance of resilience and the lasting impact of educators. To all our listeners, let's carry forth the lessons from Eric's story and continue to amplify leadership in all that we do. Until next time, keep leading, keep learning and keep inspiring.