The Right Hand Man



Figure 1: see note

          "Ding," the grey elevator door opens slowly and reveals a middle aged man. He is about 5'6", medium frame, a mild tan, black sleeked hair, with a five a clock after shave. He has a lime green button down shirt with a black tie, grey slacks, midnight color pointy shoes, along with grey glasses hanging off his left shirt pocket. Briefcase in hand, he trudges forward with a faint smile on his face. As he strolls down the narrow hallway (Figure 1), he encounters a Caucasian woman with short brown hair, a blue blazer, short black skirt, and black flats. "Good Morning David" she utters in a soft voice as she swings her hand towards him for a handshake. "Good afternoon Dean." Smiles stretch across their faces and their hands shake in a quick manner. As her head nods, she quickly lets go of his hand, walking away saying, "See you at 8 for the meeting." David nods his head as he responds in a husky voice, "Okay Dean." He heads towards his room and upon entering, there is a brown sign on the door saying, "Assistant to the Dean, David Vazquez Gonzalez."

            Dr. David Vazquez Gonzalez started working at Bloomsburg as the Assistant to the Dean of the College of Education on August 2nd, 2015. "This is a very interesting position. It looked demanding, but I was up for a challenge. Not only that but teaching here would have great benefits for my two daughters as well," David exclaimed. David would only commute a five minute walk and his daughters would get benefits from the school as well, a position he would not let down. David embarked on this journey from Georgia. He had left his teaching position at Dalton State College and came to Bloomsburg for a new experience. "I love it here. It is hard work, but Bloomsburg is a great place. This is a job I would like to retire from." David has been in education for over 25 years. He holds two Doctorates. One in Higher Leadership at Nova Southeastern University in 2003 and the next in K-12 Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2005. He has practically been in almost every field of education. From a teacher at the University of Puerto Rico, to the NYC Board of Education, to a principle at Roberto Clemente Charter School, to a Director of World Languages in Philadelphia, to being the Assistant to the Dean, he has truly been everywhere. "Education is something that should not vary from state to state, or country to country. Education is something that should be the same everywhere and have the same goal, to help people grow." Although many people do not understand exactly what he does, David dedicates everything to his job now.

             Many people overlook what the Assistant to the Dean does, yet it is a very strenuous and tedious job. They do multiple activities. "I once had to develop a timeline from our reports for the 2019 CAPE visit. I had to gather data on my own, and create this timeline predicting how our programs would be. It was very difficult because if my information was wrong it could jeopardize everything." David developed timelines, as well as the most important activities, making sure all the programs get a critique by the State and International Associations. The programs here are basically all the departments at Bloomsburg. English, Psychology, Sociology, etc. Without the Assistant to the Dean, there would be no programs. David must know all the policies, and then work individually with each department to get them accredited.  After they get accredited by the State, then they move on to the International Associations. This means a lot of paper work, meetings, and workshops. Meetings and workshops can be held anywhere in the state of Pennsylvania. They typically last more than five hours. With David already working from 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 5 days a week, this meant no breaks. However, that is not the hardest part of the job. Developing assessments and aligning them is the last thing David wants to do. He must develop each assessment for each program and make sure they are all aligned together. This takes months to do, and with deadlines, this job can become your worst nightmare. 

Figure 2: see note

         "This is a very challenging job, but the challenges keeps me motivated. But if there was one thing I would change, it would be my office space," David conveys as he looks around his clumped room. The office resembles a perfect square, about 9 ft. wide on each side. A white circular desk cuffs around half of his office. Dirty tan blinds cover the window on the north side of the room. A white cabinet sits next to his black roller chair. A small Aspire laptop, black phone, mini printer, and paper adorn the desk. Having no AC, a white fan lays on the floor underneath his desk. All around the room are Puerto Rican decorations, flags, and many souvenirs. On the left side of the room, a small book shelf rests on top of the desk. An assortment of colors are filled within the books. Right on top of the book shelf (Figure 2) is a mini Puerto Rican ship with a name tag that reads, "David Vazquez Gonzalez." The room had a soothing mixture of a coffee and febreze scent. On the south end of the room, there is a white board with the program lists. A variety of different Spanish songs can be heard coming from David's computer. "My room is a bit closed, but it doesn't stop me from doing my work. I am a proud Puerto Rican, I love that I can decorate my room with my culture. My hope is that I will be able to decorate for Halloween too," David said with a bright smile as he looked around the room.

Figure 3: see note

         "Knock knock," said the Dean as she knocked at his door. David tries to concentrate on his work with his face somewhere between melancholic and stressed (Figure 3). "David it is 8 a.m., let's go the meeting." David turns around in his chair and faces her with his hands clasped. "Ah, I am sorry, I was caught up in the world of assessments, but okay, let us go." He brushes off his frown, quickly gets up as he pats his pants down and proceeds beside her. They exit his office heading towards the meeting room. The Dean walks gracefully with a faint smile. On the other hand, David has a nervous look, clenching his hands tightly. They enter into a circular room with a large brown rectangular desk in the center with four black chairs surrounding it. The Dean sits in the one farthest from the entrance as David slowly takes a seat on the chair to the right of her. "Okay. So David, I recognized that you seem stressed. Is it the job, or something else?" the Dean discloses with a concerned look on her face. David looks down at his lap, takes a deep breath and then speaks. "It has nothing to do with the job. I truly love this job and I am very grateful. I am just worried about my daughters. I do not know if they are adjusting well here. They just moved from Florida to be with me. I've missed 10 years of their life. I don't know if I am being a good father," he says in a trembling voice. "David, being a parent is no easy task. If it was easy, then anyone could do it. Your daughters will be fine. Take this time and make up for it. College is an experience. They will get stressed and do a lot of hard work, but you just have to be there for them. You are an excellent worker so I know that you are an excellent father. Don't worry," the Dean announces with a bright smile. David looks up at her green eyes as he inhales a deep breath and relaxes. "Thank you. You're right. I needed that. Everything will be okay." David finally smiles. As the Dean rises she says, "Do not fret, everything will be alright." David joyfully smiles and replies "Gracias, everything will be okay. The Dean slowly walks away and in a light voice speaks, "De nada. Now I am off for my real meeting, keep on working hard at the office and at home!"

             David does work very hard at home and at the office. A day in his life is like no other. At 5:30 a.m. his alarm goes off. As he gets up, preparing for a new day, he makes a quick breakfast, whether it be a piece of toast with cheese or just black coffee, fuel is a necessity. He then walks to work and arrives at 6:30 a.m. on a good day. Once he arrives, he greets everyone he sees, and heads to office. Once in his office, he opens up his computer and checks his mail. Everything important is taken care of first. After the mail is done, it is off to finish paperwork. David will sit at his desk until 12 p.m., his lunch break. With an hour to spare, he either chooses to walk home and make a quick lunch, or just stay at his office and keeps working. Regardless of his choice, there is always work piled up in his wait. If he chooses to go home, he packs up his stuff, walks home, makes a quick meal, eats at a mile a minute, then walks back. If he chooses to stay, then he just keeps doing paperwork. After lunch is typically when meetings begin. Some meetings can be from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., even 12 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Once his day is over, he walks home, and showers. He then cooks for his daughters and indulges in Puerto Rican food. By this time, it is already 8 p.m., which means time to sleep. However, before sleeping, David always checks on his daughters to see if they need any help. Once he accomplishes that he can sleep, only to repeat this long day again the next day.

           David is a very intelligent man, who has an enormous amount of dedication to education.  He is a man who is articulate and witty. A man who takes initiative and perseveres in all he does. "This job may be the hardest job I have ever had, but it is also the job that I have learned and grew the most from. Being the Assistant to the Dean is not something a lot of people know about. I do a multitude of work, but I am the Dean's right hand man, it is a given. I strongly believe it is worth all the hard work," states David. "David is one of the hardest workers I have ever had and it has been such a pleasure to meet him," says the Dean. Hard work does pay off. Maybe one day, upon entering his sleek new room, there will be another brown sign on the door, but this time saying, "Dean, David Vazquez Gonzalez."