Mr. Perez, the new ALAS sponsor, is replacing biology teacher Podlipni, who held the position for 8 years.

“Podlipni stepped down because they felt it was time to bring in new leadership,” said Perez, a teacher in the social studies department.

Given his reputation as a respected teacher at Jones, he was requested to fill the vacancy.

“…And so they [Podlipni] brought it up with me and then also some members of ALAS reached out to me saying ‘you’re a Latino teacher’ and ‘it would definitely be great to have someone that is actually part of the community to be the sponsor,’” said Perez.

Mr. Perez suspects his new responsibility is partially due to the fact that he teaches Latin American Studies.

“I accepted sponsoring ALAS because of my connection to the culture. I also teach Latin American Studies, so it made sense for me to sponsor a Latino-based club,” said Perez.

The search for a new sponsor was not an easy task as explained by ALAS board member Isabella Laporta-Echeverria ‘25.

“It was hard to find a new sponsor when Podlipni stepped down,” said Laporta-Echeverria. “The board, with the help of Podlipni and Ms. Guerrero, asked several teachers to see if they would accept the position. Several teachers declined our offers.”

Mr. Perez does not expect to change much about the club as the student board mostly runs it.

“It’s my first year, so I don’t want to rock the boat too much. I don’t want to introduce anything too radical or different,” said Perez.

“The leadership of ALAS already has their yearly events so I don’t want to make any drastic changes that will ruin that,” said Perez.

As he gets used to his new sponsor role Perez wants the transition to go smoothly.

“I’m just making sure that the students who run the board feel comfortable in their leadership roles,” said Perez. “It’s a big change for everybody. It’s a big change for me.”

Perez acknowledges that the student board of ALAS does most of the organizing.

“It’s a club of traditions so they already know what they need for which events throughout the year,” said Perez. “Many of them have been around for so many years, they already know the drill.”

Perez then mentions what the club will need from him and what his sponsor responsibilities will be.

“My responsibility is mostly to double-check with them and offer feedback if they need anything,” said Perez. “For events, I am there to offer help for logistics of the organization.”

Daniel Marquez Jr. ‘25, an ALAS board member, shares some expectations for Mr. Perez this year.

“The board of ALAS hopes for our new sponsor to be supportive and open-minded to our ideas and opinions for the club,” said Perez. “We also hope to have a strong connection with Mr. Perez to collaborate and communicate as equals.”

ALAS has some upcoming events for the 2024 school year.

“ALAS is working on doing a Dia de los Muertos event in order to celebrate the holiday. We are also working on doing ALAS Fest this year which we are all very excited for!” said Marquez Jr.