Coming Full Circle

Meet Wilson Jimenez from Mission Graduates at the Mission Beacon Center.Wilson was born and raised in Guatemala and came to the Mission District in California when he was 12 years old. He attended Everett Middle School and Mission High School and currently works at Everett Middle School as the Assistant Director of the Mission Beacon Center.When Wilson was attending Mission High School, a Beacon staff member gave him the opportunity to coach the girls’ soccer team at Everett Middle School. While in college at San Francisco State University, his high school offered him to be the assistant coach for the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer team. After taking advantage of both opportunities in working with youth, he grew to love working in this field. Wilson has worked in other youth organizations such as CYO, Sunset Beacon, and Good Samaritan. During his transition out of Good Samaritan, he was given the role as Assistant Director from the Mission Beacon Director, Marco Durazo.A Day in Wilson’s ShoesAs the Assistant Director, he is responsible for ensuring the after school program is running smoothly and that Beacon staff are supporting school day staff. He is a leader, not only to the staff he supervises, but also to the youth participants. As Wilson makes his rounds throughout program, he has youth participants who are eager to talk to him and follow him through the halls of the school.Youth look up to Wilson as a mentor, leader and confidant. He can easily relate to the youth of Everett Middle School having shared and similar experiences growing up as an immigrant and English learner in the same community. Wilson has the trust of many youth and their parents, which empowers him to provide impactful programs and services.Wilson is currently planning to implement family programs and has other ideas for creating partnerships throughout the community to provide more programs at the Beacon.As former student of Everett Middle School, Wilson’s story is an example of coming full circle. He’s a positive and influential leader who serves and helps improve his community.