At Coral Gables Senior High, Mr. Jorge Lopez can usually be seen darting around the school hallways, from building to building, helping teachers and students with electronic problems. What may seem like a small issue affects hundreds of students every day, preventing them from completing tasks and halting learning. From WiFi to printers to lockdown browsers in Advanced Placement classrooms, Mr. Lopez knows how to fix it all. Without him, students, staff and teachers would not be able to go through a single school day. His continuous dedication to lifting everyone’s issue led him to become the 2024 Miami-Dade District IT of the Year, an award that many feel is long overdue.
Mr. Lopez has been working for the district of Miami-Dade for 11 years and has been specifically at Gables since 2018. Mr. Lopez has always had a passion for technology, having played video games from a young age and having a special talent for fixing technical issues. As this passion grew, he ultimately realized that he wanted his future to be in technology and solving complex problems within in. After attending college for Information Technology, Lopez then applied for a job for the district. Working for IT in the educational world was compelling to Lopez, because it was a secure and stable job, yet he later on grew to love it for the people he worked alongside and the someone unconventional work life.
“I love working here. It’s awesome working alongside people who aren’t just stuck in a cubicle inside an office. I like talking to everyone here”, Mr. Lopez said.
However, his work does not come without challenges, Lopez claims that his biggest challenge is time. With only seven hours of school, he fights against the clock in order to aid all the people struggling with technological problems. As he gets multiple calls and messages from teachers and staff hourly to resolve IT issues, there is only so much he can fix. Ultimately, Mr. Jorge Lopez is forced to pick which problems to resolve first. Yet, many can attest that they have never been let down by him, and he is always one call away.
“Every single time I would call him [Mr. Jorge Lopez], he would come in and not just help me with any issues I had, but he would go around and help the students. We can always count on him to fix whatever is going on,” Mrs. Lazara Vazquezbello said.
The process of receiving the yearly award starts with a survey that is sent to staff in the district, and the votes are then tallied up. Unsurprisingly, Lopez won by a landslide, so much that the survey was even sent a second time to make sure the counting was correct. When Mr. Lopez and the staff at Gables were sent the email that he won the award, replies flooded in congratulating him and thanking him for the unerring help.
“I think he’s great, Mr. Lopez is always there to fix any issues we have with technology, considering that some teachers aren’t the best with computers. There’s always been staff to help us with technology at every school I’ve been to, but nobody seems to enjoy their job like he does,” junior Andres Espinosa said.
To Lopez, this award is recognition for all his consistent commitment, and the unwavering support he brings to Gables, pushing him to continue working hard. For staff, students and teachers, the award is just a small representation of all their appreciation and recognition for his continuous help.
“It felt awesome to win the award. Imagine just all of a sudden, one day, you are told all of your colleagues and friends at school think you’re awesome. It felt pretty great,” Lopez said