Sunday, September 21st, marked a turning point for The Bolles School that will have a long-lasting impact on both the faculty and students.
Mr. Gomez will always be remembered for his constant smile, his love for his students, and his never-failing comic book references.
He first arrived at the school mid-year, filling a newly opened spot in the math department. A trait about Mr. Gomez was that he “was always willing to do whatever it took for the team. He was put in several spots where we needed him to teach something, and he always said ‘Sure, I’ll teach that’ without hesitation,” said one of his colleagues, Mr. Lyons.
When he joined Bolles, Gomez immediately showed off his contagious smile everywhere he went. “He was always smiling, every day,” Lyons recalled. This made him an extremely desirable candidate for the position. “I liked him a lot and I hoped we were going to hire him because I really enjoyed the time that I got to spend with him during his interview,” said math teacher Mrs. Dostert.
Gomez was consistently trying to care for his students and challenge them academically at the same time. “He always had a lot of really good ideas on ways to challenge the students without making the class too hard,” said Dostert.
Mr. Gomez always believed in focusing on “thinking that the point of being a teacher is to make sure that you are not only giving good content to the children that they can use, but that you are instilling some morals into the students and being more than just their class teacher,” said one of his close colleagues, Mr. Dostert.
Although he had differing interests and hobbies, Mr. Gomez was always very admirable to Mr. Lyons, and he shared that his favorite memory with him was, “We were at lunch one day with some other teachers talking about college football, and he said, ‘I don’t get why people in the South like that so much,” said Lyons.
Something about Mr. Gomez that he will be honored and remembered for by the teachers and friends he had during his time at Bolles, was that “he was very conscientious about what you put into your body…he always cared about eating healthy and scolded me for drinking soda, even with his poor health,” said Mrs. Dostert.
He had many moments and memories that he left with everyone whose path he crossed that they will always cherish. “We went tailgating with him and his wife at a Jaguars game, that was a ton of fun…he brought this tiny little grill that took two hours to cook a steak, it made us all laugh,” Mrs. Dostert recalled.
His contagious smile, along with his ability to make anyone laugh and brighten up a room, will leave Mr. Gomez a memorable legacy on all of his peers at Bolles for a long time to come. “He will be remembered for that smile and just the happiness,” said Lyons.
“I think he is going to be remembered for being a really good person, a really good man, and a really good father,” said Mrs. Dostert.
Along with his legacy, Mr. Gomez left everyone at Bolles with a lesson. “Even when life is hard and you are going through things that you can not push through easily, and life has thrown you the biggest curveball, you can still do your job and do it well,” said Mrs. Dostert.
He did it all, and all while keeping a smile on his face, and the strength and willingness it takes to fight the unimaginable.
