Returning to the Jungle: Arnulfo Flores rejoins the Cedar community

After graduating from Cedar Shoals in 2018, Arnulfo Flores returned in 2021 to the Jags as a staff member. He is currently working as Cedar’s receptionist interpret translator, but Flores’ work life started when he was still a student at Cedar. Throughout high school, Flores worked with his dad on construction, as well as at Amazon and Little Caesar’s. He found out about the receptionist position at the perfect time. 

“At first, I was working for the school district as an assistant interpret translator, and I was gonna leave the school district because I needed more money,” Flores said. “(Principal Antonio) Dericotte found out and he asked to talk to me because I knew him when I was a student at Cedar. That’s when he presented the job.’”

Dericotte was excited to be able to present a job to Flores because he knew that Flores had the abilities and spirit that Cedar needed.

“He just shows how much he cares about Cedar. I continued to look at our job board for positions, and it just worked out. He was on board with us. He brings a wealth of knowledge and talents to the table,” Dericotte said. 

As well as working, Flores juggles his college studies at Athens Technical College and hopes to one day obtain a degree that allows him to connect people and their cultural identities through his studies.

“I’m a huge advocate for continuing education for students who don’t believe that they have a chance. There are immigrant students that don’t believe they have an opportunity after high school to keep going. But there are opportunities, they just need help looking or finding those opportunities. That is what I like to do, try to help out those students,” Flores said. 

“This might be looking too far ahead in the future, but I’m hoping to open an organization that welcomes every community,” Flores said. “We’re entering that kind of era where being inclusive is a big thing. I’m hoping to make something where we have people explain their own cultures, their own opinions, but I want it to be a safe space.”

In this vision of an organization, he hopes to connect multiple communities by learning to speak new languages, learning about new cultures and translating for those who want to understand each other. 

“The goal now is to try and be a bridge between communities, between the English speaking community and the Spanish speaking community,” Flores said. “In English, the way we speak is very monotone most of the time, whenever we speak normally, there’s not that much emotion. In Spanish, almost everything they talk about, they put a lot of emotion behind. The speaking habits are very different.”

Flores also takes into account the differences in the Spanish speaking community’s own dialect, believing that he will one day be explaining these translational differences in his future work.

“Hispanic culture blankets different countries like El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Paraguay, Guatemala,” Flores said. “Each of those countries have different customs and different things. ‘Straw’ in English is just one word. But, for Mexicans that’s a different word than for Salvadorans. The same words have different ways of being communicated for each different country. That’s what I want to communicate to each side.”

As for now, Flores helps the Cedar community daily by taking calls, talking to parents, students and more.  

“I try to help out to the best of my ability with parents and students. I’m a good source of information if you need to know something and I’m also a good source for connecting people,” Flores said.

As a young staff member, Flores is a relatable and reliable face for many students. 

“Mr. Flores is always really friendly to the students who come in. He’s always greeted me in such a kind way, and I’m normally late to school so I see him every morning,” junior Yahir Rivera-Gaona said.

Being a recent graduate, Flores is a dependable person for students to come to for advice on school situations and life outside of Cedar.

“They (students) will come and talk to me and visit me every once in a while and I’ll give them snacks,” Flores said. “There’s sort of moments I’m able to talk to students not as a grown adult, but letting them know another kind of view, giving them a little taste of what else is out there. I kind of serve as a bridge between them and being older.” 

Both through his position as a receptionist and with his hispanic background, Flores is able to effectively interact and navigate student needs with the large Spanish speaking population at Cedar.

“I want to have a positive impact communication wise, trying to get info from one person to another or trying to get people to the right person that they need to talk to,” Flores said. 

Flores’ optimistic attributes as a student carried over into his career as a staff member. Current English teacher Brent Andrews, Flores’ former teacher, says Flores was the type of student that you love to see every day. 

“He was always smiling, always friendly, always kind to other people and most importantly, he was just really curious about the world. He was interested in having conversations about issues and topics in society,” Andrews said.

Flores’ receptionist role is suited perfectly for his personality.

“He is exactly the kind of person that Cedar Shoals needs at the front desk. He is calm and friendly, and a good listener to everyone who comes to him for any reason,” Andrews said. 

Flores makes a significant impact on the Cedar community through his patience, kindness and bilingual skills. He has a positive impact on parents, students and teachers.

“It’s really powerful to have someone who can solve problems for people and the fact that he is bilingual is a huge asset for our school, our students and our families,” Andrews said. 

Through his language skills and hardworking nature, Flores hopes to help Jaguars and hispanic families daily. 

“I’m like a huge advocate for continuing education for students who don’t believe that they have a chance. There are immigrant students that don’t believe they have an opportunity after high school to keep going. But there are opportunities, they just need help looking or finding those opportunities. That is what I like to do, try to help out those students,” Flores said.