Different roles, same impact

https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-zarraluqui

Mrs. Zarraluqui, assistant principal at Belen Preparatory, an all-male school in Miami, is grateful for the opportunity to impact young people every day. Before Belen, she taught at Lourdes Academy, an all-girls school. In both settings, she has made valuable connections with students. 

While Mrs. Zarraluqui loves her career, initially, she planned to be an environmental scientist. She even went to college to study environmental science, but God had another plan for her. Eventually, she switched from science to English with the goal of becoming a lawyer or writer. Being a teacher, let alone an administrator, was not on her mind, but she thinks that she was placed in education for a reason, and she now realizes that this was her vocation all along. “It has never been that education was my ambition. It has all been very organic,” she said. 

Mrs. Zarraluqui has now been an administrator at Belen for seven years. Before this, she was a teacher there. Overall, she feels that she has learned a lot in this community. She especially loves all the engagement and activities. “My favorite thing about working here is that there is never a dull moment,” she said. “There is always something fun or funny happening. It is just a really lively environment.”

She also connects to the faith-based mission. “As an administrator, my number one priority is ensuring that we fulfill the mission–that everything that we do, and every decision that we make fulfills the mission of the Society of Jesus, the mission of our school,” she said.

As a seasoned educator, she feels grateful to have been able to impact so many lives through her different roles and in different settings. “It’s so worthwhile,” she said. “I can’t express how fulfilling it is to watch a child grow…There is no greater satisfaction. It’s like watching your own child’s growth.”

She encourages anyone who has a passion for this field to pursue it despite its challenges. “Education needs some of the best minds and the biggest hearts,” she said. ”It is very much a vocation…I think it’s the kind of thing that can transform your own life, but also the lives of others.”