10 Questions for 1 Alumnus: Richard Laviña '05

 

A. I’m not sure how pep rallies are held now, but in 2005 we used to hold them in the gym. Back then, Ms. Acosta was the disciplinarian and was in charge of dismissing all the students. The students were organized by grade, and each grade had its respective section on the bleachers. The senior section back then sat between a few different grades. Everyone was required to stay seated until they were called upon. As Ms. Acosta started dismissing the grades, a few seniors came up with the great idea to simply not stand up and leave the gym. The word got around fast, and everyone got on board. There were about 2 hours left of school, so what would be the worst that could happen? Ms. Acosta then turns to the senior section and calls on us no one moves. Immediately all the teachers and students remaining in the gym looked at us in confusion. She called on us again, thinking her microphone was broken, and when no one moved for a second time, she said, “fine, vamos a ver how much punishment you would like to tolerate to simply skip two hours of school.” She began by threatening a 30-minute weekday detention for each student, but by the time she upped the ante to not walking at graduation, even the most adamant sit-in student rose up and walked out of that gym. 

 

A. We currently have 13 Belen alumni working at Taxfyle, and it is simultaneously a gift and a curse. We all know how quiet and meek Belen grads are. All joking aside, there is a reason why my co-founder Michael (whom I met in 7th grade at Belen) and I have gravitated towards Belen alumni for Taxfyle. They are sharp, hard-working, and dependable. We have engineers, customer success, marketing, and legal employees, so their skill-set runs the spectrum. Trust is the basis of all relationships, and although not all Belen employees at Taxfyle have worked out, the vast majority have, and it’s because, in large part, we trust each other. 

 

A. Start coding and producing products today. Some of the best engineers I have come across aren’t even formally trained and are in their early 20s. They are simply individuals who have a passion for engineering which has led them to work on projects day and night, learning everything there is to know about the task at hand. Different from a theoretical education, the real-life feedback of products you create and send into a marketplace (like GutHub) has infinitely more learning points and allows you to progress and grow at a faster rate. It’ll be through these projects that you will eventually find the niche you want to specialize in, and that will lead to a company (maybe one of your own creations) requiring your speciality and offering you a well-paying, fulfilling career.