There is an elegant man behind a computer at the PE office; he has a neat shirt and impeccable hair, he slowly reads a document no one else could possibly understand. Then he switches tabs to look at a google sheets form filled with numbers. He glances back and forth to different papers that are scattered all over his desk, he sees me and immediately flashes a smile as if he had nothing to worry about, and  suddenly I have his undivided attention.

Johan Ocampo has been working for the school for about one year and he is still not commonly known around the student body. He is in charge of all the extracurricular programs around the school and is especially helpful wIth the organization of COSMUN. He is crucial for the development of any event or program hosted by TCS. He has little to no recognition at all and he is still one of the happiest human beings around The Columbus School campus.

What does Johan do?

I want to know what he works on and what he does regularly, so I ask. I am surprised when his response includes a long list of things I didn’t even know existed. “Basically I am in charge of the logistics part of COSMUN, that means registrations, all the things that we have to buy for the event, the budget…I set the price for the event, keeping track of the payments, inviting schools, talking to the people about the spaces that are going to be used and also everything that has to do with computers and technology. I also work with all the extra curricular programs here at the school, so it’s basically taekwondo, yoga, inventopolis, archery, dance, GIN conference, and any model UN trips and rents that have to do with the theater and courts…”. Johan Ocampo said as I stare blankly at him. He giggles.

“Unhappy?! No! I am happy here, I am very happy here. I think working here is amazing, I’ve worked before with universities: Eafit, EIA and one in Germany, but this is the first time I work at a school and it has been great. People are great, they are kind, and students have been especially kind to me. And the environment… ah, it’s special,” said Ocampo.

Sometimes people like Johan go unnoticed by many. But he has clearly made an impact on the school and in all the students he has worked with throughout last year.

Johan’s impact on COSMUN

“Johan is like a friend to me; he’s young and he definitely understands me, so we can sit and talk about stuff, not necessarily COSMUN, but about life. He is always there to help you. He is the type of person you go to when you have a problem, and he’ll do everything in his power to solve it right away, so I just think he is one of the most helping persons I’ve ever met,” said Federico Caro, a senior at TCS and also the Secretary General of COSMUN 2018.

“I think if you were to rate Johan’s job in a scale from one to ten it would be a twelve. He is the basis of COSMUN, and without him I wouldn’t be able to do half of the stuff I have to do. So, he is my right hand, and also my left hand and my legs…he is my support system for COSMUN…”, said Caro proudly.

Events like COSMUN take a lot of work and time from the students, and for them to have an unconditional support is crucial. Jobs like Johan’s are essential for anything that needs logistics, money and school spaces, basically for everything that happens at the campus. Little to no students thank these people for their jobs, and they are still fulfilling them in an extremely passionate way. There should be indeed more recognition for them.

“He is an excellent person; he is very committed to what he does. He is here early in the morning and stays late in the afternoon, he gets along really well with everyone and one of his best attributes is that he gets along extremely well with the students,” said Freddie Badillo, one of his colleagues.

“I think for instance, that he is a blessing for COSMUN, and I don’t know what we would do without him. I also know that he handles a lot of other things that people are not aware of, and people should be thankful for him. People behind the scenes help everything come together, and we don’t see they are there most of the time, but they are. And they put so much effort into things. They deserve an immense amount of recognition,” said Manuela Betancourt 11th grade TCS student.

There are people that shine by their own light, and Johan falls into that category. He does not look for anything in return when he offers all  his services to the TCS community, he is always there for anything a student could possibly need or ask for, and for that we are all thankful, or at least most of us. “I think the team I work with certainly values my work and what I do; the rest I don’t think they know I exist!” Ocampo answers with a laugh and a simple shrug.