Isai Ogarrio-Martinez: 'To see all the stories inspires you and motivates you to give your best every day'
Isai Ogarrio-Martinez
Administrative Assistant, Graphic Designer
Communications Department
“MPUSD has grown so much in a positive way. Other surrounding districts may have more financial support, but MPUSD has people that love their work and want to see students succeed. They love what they do,” said Isai Ogarrio-Martinez, administrative assistant and graphic designer in the Communications department for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. And, Isai certainly loves what he does. “Working for MPUSD is great. To see all the stories inspires you and motivates you to give your best every day,” he says.
A product of the school district, Isai attended the former Bayview and Walter Colton Middle School before graduating from Monterey High School in 1996. He has been a proud MPUSD employee for 25 years. Immediately after graduation, he began work as a teacher's aide at the Seaside Child Development Center before moving into clerk at the front office and working on categorical programs.
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He stepped away from MPUSD for two years to attend the School of Urban Missions, a bible college in Oakland (now Sacramento). When he returned to the district, he dove into a position at the enrollment center (formerly the Instructional Materials Center now called the District Services Center) before moving to the Adult School and Regional Occupational Programs where he did attendance data entry. He was fluent in Spanish and was tapped by the then superintendent to work in the Superintendent’s Office to support bilingual constituents. Today, he finds himself designing collateral materials, producing videos, and much more to let the community know about MPUSD.
“Being a bilingual first generation, I know how hard it is for parents to be involved, especially Latino Hispanic families to really understand the education system in the U.S. versus Latin America. For parents to be involved they need to know what is happening and that is what motivates me to be of support to them and to let them know that we can work together for the better of their students to see them graduate and go off to college,” said Isai.
He knows firsthand the challenges for some of MPUSD’s parents. Isai was born in Mexico City and his family migrated to the United States when he was just eight years old. His parents worked full-time jobs trying to make everything work. “When I go to events, I can relate to families, especially seeing families that are not fluent in English. As a young boy, I had to translate for my parent-teacher conferences, so when I am asked to translate for our families today it’s ‘yes 100 percent’,” says Isai. “It’s hard for parents to help their students succeed if they don’t know how to support their students. I see myself in the student shoes and I can remember at my parent-teacher conferences, my dad would ask ‘are you sure you’re telling me the truth?’ I love being able to support our Spanish speaking community.”
As his job has transitioned into graphic design and video producing and editing, Isai says, “I love doing these things because I have seen how the district has changed and progressed. I’ve seen the district in one of the lowest moments and now where we are today it's like day and night. It’s unfortunate that the district has had to go through all those seasons and challenges, but now where we are I am proud to say that I work for the school district. I have seen the district put in a positive light with a positive outcome and it's a great success for students, staff, families and our leadership.”
Isai is also deeply involved at church in Seaside, where he has the opportunity to support families who also attend MPUSD while ministering in the community. “I love the outreach and giving a helping hand to families that need it,” says Isai. “I have been placed in a position that I get to serve both (at MPUSD and church) and one of my passions is helping people when they need support with their students. They both compliment each other. I let them know I work for the school district and offer my support. I see a relief that there is someone they can connect with, an extension that can provide resources whether it be education or social emotional and spiritual help.”
Isai has been married for nearly 20 years to his wife Esmeralda, whom he met senior year at Monterey High School. He has two children Emily (10) and Joel (14), who is now a sophomore at Monterey High. They enjoy traveling and giving their kids the opportunity to experience different cultures and countries.