Nicole Kalpin

“I remember my first day here [in 1994]. Actually I came down before with the principal here, his name was Mr. Hayward. He was the one that brought me down here, and he brought me down for good because I was at another high school and said, “You have to come down here and work at Santaluces.” I had a visit and fell in love with the place. I fell in love with the students, I’ve always said the best thing about this school is its students. It’s not just something I say, it’s something I truly believe in. I’ve been at other schools, and it’s hard to put a definition about, but I’ve always said that the students here have class. They always have, compared to other students in Palm Beach County. So, that was my best thing I remember the first day on campus, how nice all the students were. I am looking forwards to retirement, that should be good. The closer it gets, the little more afraid I’m getting because it’s kinda scary. I’m going to miss this place. This is, kinda sounds weird but it’s kind of like my home. I like coming here every day. I’m worried about Mr. Ramos. What’s he going to do? He’s not gonna be able to find radios anymore. But this is my home, I don’t know anything else, so this is going to be really sad for me. It’s nice to retire, but I am going to miss it. The students are my children – so to speak – and the teachers and everybody else is like my brothers and sisters. I will miss that.”