Moving communities can be difficult, adapting to new cultures and environments presents challenges for everyone. Spanish teacher, Ingrid Perez has overcome these challenges herself.

In the summer of 2016, Spanish and student council teacher Ingrid Perez and her family sold all their belongings and moved from Puerto Rico to start a new life in Colorado. Perez’s husband was in Colorado for a culinary internship at the Broadmoor, but he ended up getting a full-time job, prompting the family to move.

When Perez arrived in Colorado, she found that there were many cultural differences. “We are very loud and touchy feely, and the culture here in the United States is calmer,” Perez said. “The United States is drier in a sense of not everybody likes to hug and not everybody likes to give a kiss on the cheek. And we do that a lot.”

Perez has adapted to these changes, but she deems that the first year was the most difficult. “I have a few friends that are in the military, and they come from Puerto Rico. And so, every now and then they have to move from place to place and they have to adapt to the culture of every place that they go,” Perez said.

Perez had multiple jobs before she found her love for teaching. “I was not a teacher in Puerto Rico,” Perez said. “I was a manager of a clothing store,” As the manager of the store, she felt comfortable in that she had already achieved the top position.

She has also had other jobs as a teacher around Colorado. “I used to work for District 12,” Perez said. “I got to say that District 14 is more welcoming and made things more easygoing and more comfortable.”

Students at MSHS appreciate Perez’s different perspective. “I feel like I trust everything that she says, when she tells us what a word is in Spanish, I don’t have a concern that she learned it wrong,” freshman Naomi Porter said.

Freshman, Emma Strouse, has also moved from another country. “I think Ms. Perez is definitely more open because she has a different perspective of another place other than America, so she wants us to be open and learn as well,” Strouse said.

Perez has found comfort in the Manitou community and has quickly become a beloved teacher. “I love what I’m doing, I love my job, I love my students, even though sometimes it is a bit difficult,” Perez said. “But I love my job, I love what I’m doing, and if I would have known that I would have liked it this much, I would have started sooner.”