Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight: The JTD Maintenance Team

As the final feature of JTD faculty and staff in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are proud to share more about our amazing Maintenance Team. Thank you to all of our faculty and staff who shared more about their Hispanic culture, their interests, and their love for JTD this past month.

Miguel Magaña

What is your Hispanic background? My family is from a small town in the Mexican state of Michoacán called Erongarícuaro, which means "Place of waiting" in the Purépecha language. Many towns in the area are named similarly and many people still speak the Purépecha language.
 
What do you value about your culture? My culture is very important to me, and I am very proud of it. I appreciate that everyone gives 100%.
 
What do you most enjoy about your job? I love that I get to do what I like to do. I love to fix things.
 
How do you enjoy spending your free time? I actually enjoy doing this related to my job! I organize my tools and spend time in the backyard, moving soil or gardening.
 
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: In 2004, I was able to travel back to my hometown after 20 years of living in the U.S. and receiving my immigration status. I saw my dad, brothers, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We had a big party on my dad’s avocado farm. The avocado trees had only been a few feet high when I left and when I came back, they were fully grown at almost 40 feet tall. 
 
 

Abraham Ramiriez

What is your Hispanic background? My family is from Zacateca, Mexico. 
 
What do you value about your culture? I value that in my culture we are close to friends and relatives. 
 
What do you most enjoy about your job? I love to see the little kids play. Everyone is happy when I see them.
 
How do you enjoy spending your free time? I love to spend time at home with my grandkids, my daughter, my son, and my wife. I enjoy baking and cooking.
 
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I used to run My Brothers Bar-B-Q, a BBQ restaurant
in Woodland Hills, which closed in 2016 right before I came to work here at JTD. 
 
 

Marco Talavera

What is your Hispanic background? My family is from Michoacán, Mexico.
 
What do you value about your culture? I appreciate that we are religious, polite, and respectful.
 
What do you most enjoy about your job? There is always something different to do. I love working with kids because they make you laugh. I love to make everyone have a good day.
 
How do you enjoy spending your free time? I love playing and watching sports. My favorite soccer team is Real Madrid.
 
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: My dad is 82 and this summer, I took my daughters Sam ‘22 and Alex ‘25 to visit him in Mexico for the first time. Then he came out here in September for a whole month, and he visited with friends he hadn’t seen in 65 years. His favorite place to go was Taco Bell!
 
 

Juan Torres

What is your Hispanic background? My family is from Ilobasco, El Salvador.
 
What do you value about your culture? I love that we prioritize family.
 
What do you most enjoy about your job? Each day is never the same. The JTD kids are especially great. I love to laugh. Marco and I are clowns, always joking with each other.
 
How do you enjoy spending your free time? I love watching sports, especially baseball and soccer. My favorite soccer team is FC Barcelona.
 
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: This summer my wife and I took Juan ‘24 and our younger son Alessandro on a twelve day trip to El Salvador to visit my wife’s family. We went to the beach and a natural water park with waterfalls, bridges, and rock slides.

Thank you to our Maintenance Team for sharing a little about yourself!

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The John Thomas Dye School admits students of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs.

Located In Los Angeles, CA, John Thomas Dye is an independent school for grades K-6. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.