
What makes someone successful is their work ethic, how hard they work and how much they can lift others up as well.
Mr. Brandon Andrade
Meet Brandon Andrade, an ESL teacher entering his third year of teaching. Mr. Andrade is a Voc-Tech alumnus from Electrical Technology, and always knew he wanted to come back and pursue a career at GNBVT. As a student here, he learned with the help of his career and technical area how to work hard and have pride in his work. Life at GNBVT led Mr. Andrade to a better lifestyle. As an ESL teaching assistant, one of his favorite aspects of teaching is seeing his students excel and finally understand and overcome any issues or challenges they have had.
Outside of school, Mr. Andrade involves himself in his community. He attends church and is a Pathfinder Director, which is similar to Boys Scouts in the sense that Mr. Andrade teaches survival techniques and training. He also loves hiking, climbing mountains and being a part of the nature around him. Additionally, he goes mountain biking in scenic areas such as Highland and Killington Mountains where he can do intense down hilling. Mr. Andrade considers himself to be a big-time soccer fan since soccer has been a hobby of his for a long time. When he was younger, Mr. Andrade dreamed of being a soccer player and even had the opportunity to play in a semi-professional tournament overseas in Italy.
Before coming to work here at GNBVT, Mr. Andrade didn’t have a concrete idea of what he wanted to do after high school, but his faith led him to teach. When he finally got a sense of what he wanted to do, he knew he wanted to help others. The biggest piece of advice he could give his students would be to find something that makes them happy and always work hard, but find something they can give back to, no matter what they do in life. To Mr. Andrade, what makes a successful student is someone who is dedicated to their work and embraces their ability to help others. They take their own abilities and help other people grow. Since Mr. Andrade has only been here for a few years, he would like to stay working at GNBVT for a while, but later in life, he would like to travel. He would like to see every country he can and visit every national park here in the United States, but these are the only plans he has made for now.