THE LIFE AND TIMES OF

Nepo

An American

Educator

My name is

John Villanueva ​Nepomuceno

Welcome to theycallmenepo dot com

Consider this a growing resource for anyone who’s found ​themselves in a place of confusion and distress. For those ​who felt like they lost almost everything. I’m here to help.

Sing my Redemption Song

“America is also the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry ​boy begging for a job and the black body dangling from a tree. America is ​the illiterate immigrant who is ashamed that the world of books and ​intellectual opportunities is closed to him. We are that nameless foreigner, ​that homeless refugee, that hungry boy, that illiterate immigrant and that ​lynched black body. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native ​born or alien, educated or illiterate — We are America!”

Carlos Bulosan, America is in the Heart

What’s all this then?

We all have trials and tribulations in our lives.

It’s how we respond to disappointment, failure, heartbreak, and loss, that defines who we truly are, ​and what we’re really made of.

My name is John Villanueva Nepomuceno,

but they call me Nepo.

I wanted to create a platform that could help me reconcile with the pain and heartbreak I’ve been ​going through since the dissolution of my marriage, and how I’ve worked to bounce right back up, so ​I can motivate others to do the same. I am a longtime Servant in urban Public Education, where ​challenges have mounted in unforeseen ways after the Pandemic. I seek to give advice and receive ​advice from others who are going through similar struggles, especially within the context of public ​service. Issues that also concern me range from mental health to Veterans issues, as well as overall ​physical, psychological, and spiritual fitness. Here are my stories. Here are ways that I have ​recovered. My Faith. My Family. My People. My Purpose.

Let me try the best I can to help you, Dear Reader, be the best you that you can possibly be, despite ​everything. The best is yet to come...

Bio

Mr. John Villanueva Nepomuceno, or “Nepo,” as many call him ​these days, is a first-generation Filipino-American, native ​Southeast San Diegan, K-12 product of urban public schools, and ​dedicated urban educator.

He served briefly in the United States Marine Corps, where he was ​honorably discharged from MCB Quantico in 2004. He continues ​his service to the Veteran community as a member of the ​American Legion.

He is an Assistant Principal at Balboa High School in San ​Francisco and was a part-time Adjunct Instructor for City College of ​San Francisco. He is a father of two.

Brief personal ​history in ​education and ​statement of ​purpose

I came into Education as a 19 year old undergraduate, working as a ​Tutor, Mentor, and College Advisor at Castlemont High School in ​Deep East Oakland. I felt a deep sense of familiarity with my ​students, as a Filipino-American, born and raised in Southeast San ​Diego at the intersection of the Black, Mexican, Filipinx and ​Southeast Asian communities, where our homes had bars in our ​windows, and where I daily stood at the free-reduced lunch line with ​a tinge of shame, and wonder.

I didn’t know that my experiences growing up and the kinship I ​developed with my Oakland students would spur me towards a ​greater desire to grow as a social justice advocate, as an Educator, ​as a frontline fighter for Equity. I took all these to heart, and kept ​the fire going as I continued working with students with a deep ​sense of care, Love, and “doing the right thing.” After a brief stint ​in my hometown of San Diego as a Substitute Teacher, I came back ​to East Oakland as an English Teacher at Fremont High School in ​the Fruitvale District where I also lived, putting the students first, ​giving them voice, challenging them, educating them, and helping ​them speak their truth to power. In turn, they were educating us on ​their struggle and suggesting ways to combat those struggles. This ​fire still exists in me as a school leader in San Francisco. Equity ​and Social Justice is at the heart of my agenda, and I make no ​apologies for it, without fear or favor. This is me. This is who I am. ​Just doing good, from Diego to the Bay. From Kumeyaay Territory to ​Ohlone Land.

Education

A graduate from the University of California, Berkeley with a ​Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Nepo has worked extensively with ​socioeconomically-disadvantaged youth from Southeast San ​Diego to East Oakland.

He holds two Master of Arts degrees from the University of ​California, Berkeley Graduate School of Education, earning a ​Master of Arts in Education and Single-Subject Credential through ​the Multicultural Urban Secondary English (MUSE) Program, and ​a Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis on Educational ​Leadership and a Preliminary Administrative Services Credential ​through the Principal Leadership Institute. In addition, he ​completed the Leadership Support Program at the University of ​California, Berkeley Graduate School of Education, finishing ​course work towards a Professional Clear Administrative Services ​Credential.

He recently completed postgraduate work as a Fellow for the ​School Leaders Program at the Stanford University Graduate ​School of Education's Center to Support Excellence in Teaching, ​as part of its inaugural cohort.

He is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of ​Southern California Rossier School of Education.

Organizations, Collaboratives, and Communities

Additional Training, Workshops, and Certificates

Blog

Some of y’all might know this

...and some of y’all don’t

Some of y’all might be with this, and some of ​y’all won’t. But listen, let me clear my throat

(more to come. Stay tuned!)

Resources