In honor of Alisal’s 60th Anniversary, this is the ninth in an ongoing series of staff/alumni profiles.

It’s always important to trust your gut because it might be what you are destined to do whether it’s about making a decision or a choice about something or someone. 

English teacher Esmeralda Ochoa was born and raised here in Salinas and she graduated from Alisal with the class of 2017. In high school her favorite thing that she ever did was cross country. She tried it out her freshman year after her AVID teacher Mr. Patel made part of their grade to join a club or a sport so she decided to try out for cross country and swimming and ended up loving it so much she did cross country all four years and swimming for two years.  In cross country, her coach Mr. Munoz was very supportive and pushed his athletes to do better both in cross country and in school. “I felt that was my motivation that I had to keep my grades up or else I probably wouldn’t have done as great,” she said. Cross country made her realize that she was allergic to grass which she probably wouldn’t have ever known and inspired her to do track and field which she stuck to doing for 3 years. Her events were the mile and two mile.  

In all four years of high school, she had a lot of great teachers who all inspired her to do great, but her favorite was Mr. Torres-Lopez, her AP Spanish teacher. “His teaching style was like no other, he’s charismatic, he’s empathetic,” Ochoa said. “He really works with students and the topics that we discussed were really interesting.” 

While she enjoyed her time as a student, one year stood out, “My favorite year was my senior year because I was working, so I was making money and meeting new people. I was also taking classes at Hartnell and I was doing sports,” she said. “I just had a lot going on so that was what really helped me. Once I transitioned into college then managing my schedule wasn’t as hard.” 

After high school, she went to CSUMB for 3 years where she got her undergraduate degree in human communications. Her concentration was in free law because she wanted to become a lawyer. Her minor was in community health education, which looking back she wishes she had stuck with because she loved those classes and they were the ones she did best. “I remember my professor,” she said. “I had her for a few of those classes and she would always tell me, like, you’re the one who gets the best scores. She asked me, ‘Are you sure you’re not gonna go into this?’ and I would be like, ‘No, I’m going to law school, but looking back I wish I would have followed my gut.” 

In 2019, while at CSUMB, she had the opportunity to study abroad in the Netherlands for a couple of weeks. She had the opportunity to work with the Keith Sherman Global Leaders Program which focused on inclusion and diversity, global issues, sustainability, peace and offered students an international leadership experience and travel which she loved to do and she got paid for it. “I got to meet a lot of awesome people and it went by really, really fast,” she said

During her time at CSUMB, she was also working at Alisal as a tutor right before the pandemic hit. She graduated early from CSUMB in 2020 during the pandemic. 

After graduation, she was working at a jewelry store and she hated it. “There were hardly any customers and we had to clean and wipe down the tables and it was just repetitive and just the energy of it was not good for my mental health,” she said. “And so when they shut down, I was so grateful.” 

She realized she wanted to be a teacher while she was working as a tutor in Mr. Gutierrez’s ELD class. “I saw how much patience and empathy he had for these students,” she said. “And then the way he supported his students with his lessons and everything, It’s like I can see myself doing that.” Her supervisor encouraged her to apply to the Stanford program and she did. 

She moved to Palo Alto for grad school and where she received her teaching credential. She graduated in 2021 in a ceremony where they weren’t able to walk the stage. “We just showed up. ‘Congratulations, you have completed your education’ and we were only allowed to have two people. And they had to be six feet apart.” Ochoa said

Something that made her want to come back to Alisal was that the year she came back her sister was graduating, and she was very grateful to be able to be part of that transition in her life. “Many of my students I had known since they were in elementary school either because they had gone to school with my sister or had played sports with her,” Ochoa said. “Being able to support them through their transition into college or the career of their choice was very heartwarming. That was a very special group.” 

She now teaches English 9 and English 12 expository. Coming back to Alisal, Ochoa said not much had changed. The quad area is a bit different, the Career Center has now changed locations and there are many new administrators. “The biggest difference I have noticed is student participation and school spirit. I think we used to have more of it when I was a student here,” she said.  

When it came to teaching with her previous teachers she said, “It felt strange at first, sometimes even intimidating. Then I realized the unique perspective I bring and how important it is to have new ideas when collaborating with others and that sense of imposter syndrome went away.”

What she believes makes Alisal so special that makes people want to come back is that everyone knows each other to some extent.  “I think what makes people want to come back to teach is that everyone kind of already knows each other,” Ochoa said.