Get to Know – Gerry Ortiz

Please welcome Gerry Ortiz, The Christ School’s Spanish Teacher. Gerry was born and raised in Puerto Rico, in the greater San Juan area. “I grew up playing basketball and baseball along with my two brothers, while my sister took more to academia than athletics,” he says. “I like movies; I like to analyze them not just for entertainment but as an artform. I enjoy everything from classic cinema like Citizen Kane to Marvel movies and indie films.”

“What made me want to teach as a profession was having great teachers myself,” says Gerry. “My teachers inspired me to be a lifelong learner and taught me how to think logically, how to solve problems and even how to relate to people and express myself with empathy and mutual respect. I gave a lot of thought to other professions like sports management but ultimately decided that education was the field for me. I’ve been teaching for close to 8 years now, including my work as an intern.” 

“The thing I love most about teaching students a new language is their surprise; their amazement at what certain words look and/or sound like in another language or just as much of a surprise when they realize some English words are so similar or identical to Spanish words,” he says. “I’m asking the students, especially my 8th grade students, to speak the language as much as possible and so many of them sound very accurate. I look forward to seeing all of my students develop more fluency and confidence.” 

Gerry says, “The best part about working at TCS is that my students put in the work and are reaping the benefits! Every day they come to me having practiced what they’ve learned, looking for new information or showing off what they worked on by themselves. This gladdens my heart and makes me really proud to be their teacher.”

Gerry shares his favorite Bible verse:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  – Matthew 6:34