Should I stay? Should I leave? A question Jose Vega faced at the beginning of this school year. After six years of working as a teacher at TCS, Mr. Vega decided to go back to California in June 2018.

His children, Santiago and Paloma, were missing out on their extended family back in the states, and Vega did not want them to miss the chance to get to know their grandparents. His departure is a loss for all of his current and former students, but Vega’s family is his priority and will always come first. However, there is still a question that is left unanswered: How is GIN going to continue without Vega’s counseling?

About the team

GIN, or Global Issues Network, is a program where young adults are empowered to collaborate locally and internationally to create projects based on sustainable solutions. GIN was instituted at the school back in 2011 by ex-principal Cardenas who then passed the program along to Lucia Escobar and Sebastian Navarro, who were later joined by Luz Myriam Arango (Mona) and  Jose Vega. Since then, Vega has been working tirelessly, like no other, to turn the school into a sustainable and eco-friendly place with the help of his team of teachers: Britta McCarthy, 8th grade science teacher at TCS,  Getulio Brasil, 9th grade TCS science teacher, La Mona, and Johana Restrepo, 9th grade Spanish teacher.

GIN has also been a tool for teachers to connect around the world, and it’s happened twice here at the school with the current 9th grade Biology teacher Brasil and McCarthy. These two teachers got in contact with TCS through GIN conferences, and once they moved to Medellin they contributed with their past experiences to make the school program even better.

“I’ve been doing this for over 8 years now, GIN I mean, and I’m just getting used to the (new) system (at TCS). It’s my first year of being in every meeting and getting to know the kids,” said Brasil.

Can the void be filled?

Each teacher and advisor plays a different role: from leading a different team to the multiple duties assigned during conference planning. However, they all are working together towards one goal which is making the school sustainable and expanding to a network of schools with the same objectives.

It’s unknown and questioned if new teachers coming into the school are interested or willing to play any part in GIN, but with the incredible team set up, things have been running smoothly.

“Teachers definitely know what they are doing, you can not forget about Mona, like Mona started this before I got here and the fact that she is still here, Mona herself could do this thing, she could do it all,” Vega said.

How will it work?

Many wonder if things will change once Vega isn’t part of the GIN team because of his crucial role in the program’s success, but the answer is that it won’t. However, even though it will be tough getting used to the change tough to change and the lack of Vega’s permanent support, the ultimate goal is to keep it as similar as it is today. The idea is to not move the teams and to keep working on what they have been working on with no additional changes to assure excellence and results.  

“For now I can help with long term sustainability, not for environmental issues but sustainability that can exist for long periods of time. I think we’ve had some success for a couple of years now so I think that what we leave in place: teams, projects, structures, can help for the next couple years and i am really confident in the teachers that are staying,”  Vega said.

The teachers are working on preparing kids to be leaders of the program and excelling individuals in all aspects. By showing them how everything works and giving them freedom in their teams, they will eventually be as prepared as teachers so everything can run smoothly. The idea is making students less dependent on teachers and guidance making it easier for exits like Vega’s.

“The idea with the program though is to keep it as sustainable and as student run as possible, so I know that this year we will be working on empowering the students as much as possible, so that when a teacher leaves it doesn’t affect the organization as much,” McCarthy said.

“It doesn’t worry me at all,” Vega said after restating the fact that students will become the future leaders of GIN after his departure.

Leaving proud and confident

Vega leaves with no worries and in complete confidence in the project working as well and unchanged as it did under his command.

“This really comes down to working as one big team together and not teams within teams or separations between High school and Middle school but to try to work together as a team and be okay with everyone there,” Vega concluded.