In a professional capacity, one might say Joe Duran wears two hats. He currently serves as both the building inspector and the interim city manager for the city of Española.
But on Friday mornings for the past 15 years, Duran has tackled a whole different kind of community service as a teacher at Northern New Mexico College.
Duran currently teaches life skills to adults in the Computer Assisted Drafting program and college preparatory classes to younger students with the High School Equivalency Program once a week, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
During his April 4 class, Duran went over the job application process with Northern students Herminio Padilla and Steven Hampshire, who are taking a course in Computer Assisted Drafting.
While the small class size frequently sees a fluctuation in attendance, Duran said Padilla and Hampshire would be the only people in the class that day.
Duran said in a later interview that eight people signed up for the class and five students regularly attend the class.
With a nearly empty classroom in front of him, Duran launched into his lecture about the job application process, with a special focus on interview etiquette. As an example, he spoke about what to order when an interview is conducted over a meal.
Both students are taking the class to complete their associate’s degrees in welding and advance their professional careers.
Padilla said he worked in welding for years before he was recently laid off. He went back to school to get his degree with the hope it would land him a more stable welding job with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Hampshire said he also worked a number of years in welding and currently operates his own welding business. He wants to use his degree to further his business acumen.
Despite different educational aspirations, both Hampshire and Padilla gave rave reviews of their teacher.
“He’s an inspiration to the students,” Padilla said.
Both men cited Duran’s vast job experience as a reason he’s a credible teacher.
Speaking after the class, Duran said he estimated he has 38 years of experience in blueprint drawing, 36 years in municipal government, 15 years in teaching and 10 to 15 years in truck driving.
High School Equivalency Program Director Shari Jobe said Duran’s cumulative experience in the professional world also makes him an ideal teacher for younger students seeking their General Educational Development certificate.
“He has so many stories to provide the students,” she said. “They say he’s the best teacher they’ve ever had.”
Jobe said Program students need good teachers because of the challenges they face in their course work. The program is expected to bring students from a seventh-grade education level to a college-ready level in seven weeks.
Jobe said that’s no easy task considering the Program focuses on the children of migrant farm workers.
In order to maintain state funding, the Program is required to have 80 percent of their students obtain their General Educational Development certificate and 75 percent successfully transition into college, employment or the military.
Program student David Quezada is trying to successfully transition into college. He said high school the first time around was a difficult experience.
“It was harder in school for some reason, even though I was trying,” Quezada said.
Quezada said Duran has opened his eyes to the possibilities a degree can bring and he now wants to seek a college education after he graduates from the Program.
Duran said he either uses compensation time earned during the work week or personal leave from the city to teach the classes.
Ultimately, he said he doesn’t teach the class or provide impromptu office hours when needed, for the accolades or the modest salary he’s given, but instead for something more fulfilling.
“My pride is to see the students graduate,” he said.