Taking over the West Essex High School wood shop is Alex Cunha, a former carpenter pursuing his passion for teaching. After running a successful carpentry business for over two decades, Cunha decided it was time to start something new. His love for teaching has been around for quite some time, but this year marks his chance to jump at that opportunity and start a new branch of his career.
Cunha grew up in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with his two older sisters where he faced a strict upbringing during his childhood. Though his childhood was strict, it was also full of good memories from the time he spent with friends. Since the homes in his town were very close together, he said, he grew to have many friends, and they enjoyed playing games like dodgeball and soccer to pass the time in his youthful years.
At 15, he and his family moved to America. They moved to White Plains, N.Y., and lived there for several years. During this time, Cunha started working in carpentry.
“So when you come from a different country as an immigrant, you are limited in the jobs that you have based on many factors”, Cunha said, “You know, people like me, who come from a different country, tend to fall into carpentry …, because that was available.”
While carpentry may not have been his first choice for a career path, Cunha learned to love the art more and more as the years went on. As he began to craft more extravagant pieces and learn more skills, he gained a newfound love for his career. Despite his appreciation for his craft, in his heart he knew he wanted to be a teacher. That urge to achieve his dream had been around for about a decade, but only recently did he discover he could pursue it.
“Ten years ago, I thought it’d be great to have a little class to teach students …”, Cunha said. “I thought all teachers had to have a degree … to be able to teach. I think it’s not until recently that I found out there was an available path that I could take in order to teach”.
Now that his dream has become reality, Cunha wants to make the most of it. Over time, he hopes to continue to grow as a teacher and be able to help his students learn while still making class enjoyable. Despite the long road that endured for him to reach this point, Cunha has finally achieved his goal of becoming a teacher.
