By: Jane Schuchardt
Special to The Elgin Review
Editor’s Note: This continues a series of articles celebrating pride in our town and its surroundings shown through the experience of residents, businesses, and organizations.
ELGIN — Except for his black curly hair and a place he calls home some 8,000 flight miles away, Jomari Fernandez is just like you and me.
His parents, especially his mom, likes him to check in every morning at 6:00 am (7:00 pm her time) via video chat. The time difference between Elgin and Malamawi Island, Philippines is 13 hours. His little brother, Joey, and friends miss him, too.
His hope while calling Elgin home — every student will love math and, if it comes easy or more difficult, to see how it fits in with everyday life. Meet Elgin’s newest grade 7-12 math teacher at Pope John Catholic High School.
Getting here took tenacity and more than 24 hours travel time – a boat ride off the 6.77-square-mile island where his family lives, a ferry ride, connecting plane flights to Japan, on to San Francisco, then Omaha.
“Father John (Norman) was there to fetch me,” Fernandez said with a gleam of pride in his deep brown eyes and a captivating smile brimming from ear to ear. His end destination was a furnished Elgin house he rents, formerly occupied by Sister Pat. She retired two years ago after teaching math for 50 years at the same school.
….see more at this week’s Elgin Review.
