Luis Cervantes, campus supervisor here at Arcata High School, is a beloved member of our community. Cervantes has been here for four years, and his position as of recent is being cut at the school. Those who want to skip class may see him as an annoying burden. However, in all honesty, he just wants what is best for the students here. Cervantes has been here for a short time, but has made a large impact on many of us here, and he will be missed.
Cervantes, just like us, has endured all the constant change here at Arcata High. Things like the periods changing, the change in rules, parking enforcement (parking permits), and the principal positions changing. In the time he has spent here, we have gone through 3 principals: Jim Monge, then Ron Perry, and now Kristin Ferderber.
“All three of them had really different personalities… So it definitely was an adjustment period. But as far as that goes, I feel like because we haven’t been too consistent with principles, it’s been kind of more just kind of like a revolving door.”
Although Cervantes is working two jobs right now, one here as the campus supervisor and one dealing with housing management, he still has a very large passion for his artwork. He started off with graffiti art, which really got him into it. It expanded his view and opened a door to what his creativity and imagination could do. He has worked with multiple art forms, like pencil art, tattoo, and things like flash art.
“You know, it’s just like a coping mechanism. Most of my art, I give away, or I do commissions for people who will pay for the supplies. But yeah, I do it for the love, not for the money.”
Cervantes expressed how he has even learned things from the students; it’s changed how he lives and how he goes about his everyday life. Although he has to deal with kids skipping and some difficult people, he still expresses his love for the school and says he will miss the students he’s gotten to work with.
“It’s been a very good experience. It’s made me kind of reevaluate my whole life while I’ve been here and kind of made me kind of figure out what it is that I want to do once I leave here.”
Eventually, Cervantes is planning on moving down to Southern California in the near future. Financially, after this job, he is pretty solid with his other job to depend on. All we can do as a community is wish him the best, and remember what he had to offer and what he did for our community here at Arcata High.
