Getting to Know Loretto Academy’s Pilar Gonzalez

It is very interesting how relationships grow in our lives. When I was invited to visit the fifth-grade classroom at Loretto Academy in El Paso, I saw a group of young students who were very involved in making great programs with robots even though it was all new to them. Little by little, I began to see what the students were doing with the table where they had little houses, cars and people who could move by means of long-distance help. It was a process called robotics.

The teacher, Pilar Gonzalez, was learning with her students. Some of that learning was coming from studies and some from practicing with her students. Pilar came to work at Loretto from a mathematics background. Her special interest has been and continues to be math. That has led her to investigate robotics more and more. Her daughters seem to be quite involved in robotics, also.

Soon, I learned that Pilar and I had something important in common. Both of us had a mixture of learning in English and in Spanish. Pilar comes from Veracruz, Mexico.

I came from Mexico City. It seemed that the more we got to know one another, we discovered many more details in common. It was not all related to our background. As her contact person in the co- membership process, I learned how much we share of the Loretto spirit and how many aspects of our being helped create our Loretto relationship.

Each year I have learned more and more about robotics and how the students of Loretto Academy are improving in their application of robotics. At the same time, it is most interesting to see how the knowledge and applications of robotics have grown and developed around the world. We seem to grow more and more in many ways, as students, teachers, leaders and learners every day. It is a surprising joy of Loretto that I have learned, through my dear friend Pilar, to care about robotics.