After 33 years of working in MUSD, including 22 years as an assistant principal, Cheryl Rivera spent the 2022 school year getting used to the idea of retirement.
Starting in the Bronx, New York, where she got her credentials, Rivera worked in a variety of positions where she focused on being a catalyst for change, she said. After moving to California, Rivera worked as a teacher in adult education and probation for 10 years and later as a program specialist in jails in San Francisco and Santa Clara County, she said. Later at MHS, she worked as an English teacher for one year to get to know the campus before becoming an administrator, she said.
“After being with people who have either committed crimes or made mistakes and now they’re looking at getting their high school diploma or GED, I said, ‘Okay I want to work in the profession that I was trying to do [but] with high school students because that’s where I’ve always had my passion,” Rivera said. “I saw a lot of Milpitas students in Milpitas jails … so, I was like I need to be a part of that change to circumvent them from going to jail.”
For Rivera, she said part of this change focused on inclusion and making sure every student on campus was represented. Rivera added that for the past 22 years, she worked towards this goal by providing students with the support they need and building up students’ self-esteem.
“Our school is like the United Nations of the world,” Rivera said. “We have a little bit of everything here. My belief is, as a student, you should have everything represented in the big pieces of what’s going on in the school. It’s all students, but I mainly look at the underrepresented – the students of color, second-language students – and my heart really is with our Special Ed students.”
For the entirety of her time at MHS, she has really valued the connections she has made with the students and staff and the love she felt on campus, Rivera said. For 14 years, she worked as an advisor for Black Student Union (BSU) and built up a family at MHS, she said. She still fondly recalls a memory from over a decade ago when the students of BSU threw her a surprise birthday party after they found out she had never had one before.
“I’m going to miss everyday, hanging out with the kids because that’s what wakes me up every morning,” Rivera said. “I know that every day is going to be an adventure now to learn something new, or learn a new song, or a term that I didn’t know before.”
After she retires, Rivera wants to get back into writing, she said. She also wants to follow a dream she had set for herself 20 years ago: to be a volunteer at a hospital as a ‘rocker,’ where she would rock babies in the nursery who are unable to go home. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, this program was put on hold, but Rivera said she hoped for it to resume. Rivera added she was excited to spend more quality time with her 91-year-old mother.
“I’m glad that I had this experience. I think it helped me grow as an adult and an educator, and education never stops for anyone,” Rivera said. “I’m glad that this was the school that I chose to stay in for 22 years and the position I chose to stand at for 22 years.”
As a final message to students, Rivera said to not to allow anyone to diminish your dreams. She believes every student is capable, and she hopes the positivity on campus continues to thrive.