Nicolas Lopez Jr -Founder & Project Manager
Email: lopezjr@uw.edu
"I'm Nicolas, a third year Education Studies: Multilingual Education & Spanish double-major at the University of Washington, aspiring to become a dual-language educator. I am from San Jose, California where I experienced an immersive 90/10 dual language program in my K-12 education. I gathered community building experience early through numerous bilingual community engagement and teacher assistant roles in San Jose, earning the San Francisco Giants Community Fund's Willie Mac Award in 2019. In addition, I have seen linguistic value and inclusivity reflected in my role as a Youth Hockey Coach within the San Jose Sharks Organization, promoting the NHL Learn-to-Play program to the diverse Spanish-speaking Bay Area population. Most recently, I have served as an Americorps Teaching Fellow for Breakthrough Collaborative and as a Teach for America Ignite Fellow. With my teaching experience and research efforts, I hope to tap into the Seattle community and be a part of the movement that develops linguistically rich scholars. I devote my efforts into seeing all students flourish through well-rounded approaches under a strong bilingual model."
Professional Education Experience
2025 & 2026 Summer
Breakthrough Silicon Valley, Americorps Teaching Fellow
-Designed and implemented daily standards-based lessons that focused on academic readiness and inclusivity. Writing curriculum emphasized analytical thinking, structured argumentation, and creative expression, while physical education lessons promoted wellness, collaboration, and personal growth.
-Led a "Crew” focused on community-building, student goal-setting, and peer accountability. This role allowed me to support students holistically through mentorship, restorative practices, and a strong emphasis on school culture.
-The commitment to daily lesson planning, thoughtful reflection, and growth-minded instruction created a classroom culture where students felt empowered, motivated, and connected.
2022-Present
San Jose Sharks, Hockey Coach
-Supervising hockey coach, curating specific practice plans, managing other coaches, and facilitating the operation of successful practices and camps.
-The range and diversity in the different programs, from Little Sharks Learn to Play to Advanced Adult classes, requires the ability to plan practices and educate new and developing players.
January-May 2026
Teach For America, Ignite Fellow
-Spring 2026 Fellowship Cohort. (Jan - May)
-Grade 5 Math with Dogwood Elementary in Knoxville, TN
-Managing a group of students in a community that fosters academic growth & readiness on a daily basis.
2022, 2023, & 2024 Summer
Bellarmine College Preparatory, Teacher Assistant
-Served daily roles throughout the summer program including various supervision rotations between students, camps, classrooms, sports, etc.
-Providing assistance to teachers with office tasks or in-class needs and also having to maintain a group of students with activities for different sets of times.
-Three summers of community building experience.
2017-2021
Santa Clara Catholic Charities & Giants Community Fund, Community Engagement Volunteer & Volunteer Coach
-Built a safe community space centered around child care, providing young students with valuable lessons and skills to navigate their early scholarly endeavors.
-Teaching fundamental social skills for children entering school for the first time.
-Emphasizing peer work, classroom culture, and classroom etiquette.
- Fostered a community centered around the principles of confidence, integrity, leadership, and teamwork.
- Promoted the well-rounded development of young scholars through weekly baseball practices, the Round the Bases Reading Program, and healthy habits workshops.