Image credit: Tim Mercandetti

When he was a senior at JP McCaskey High School, Angel Gonzalez made a promise to himself. “I said, ‘you know what, the goal is not to come back, it’s to go off to something else.’” Angel shared. “And then I came right back – and I think it was perfect.”

Angel’s biggest dream in high school was to become a music producer. “I was always the kid with the headphones on, blasting, my parents yelling at me, like, ‘don’t do that’,” he said. “Which probably explains why I can’t really listen out of my right ear.” he added with a laugh.

At McCaskey, Angel was fascinated by speakers and sound. He made tracks for various school productions and events, helped with Penn Cinema’s premier of Star Wars, and even got to meet Adele’s producer. During Angel’s senior year, he had an entire chunk of independent study periods where he would just do favors for teachers, whether that was making posters, or helping with events or other important tasks. 

“I always joke around and I say I feel like I worked here before I worked here,” Angel shared. 

“My parents at that time, I don’t know how they dealt with me. I was barely home. Honestly (the school) was like a hotel,” he said. “But I didn’t want to not be busy. I know my personality, I probably would have got sucked into video games, or some anime show.”

“I will never forget, when I did the Penn Cinema debut of Star Wars, I made a little finger-length ID card to get in – an ID fob,” he said. “ I walked in, and the owner of Penn Cinema came up to me and was like, ‘thank you for everything..’ At that time I didn’t know who he was, but then we went to the elevator, walked into the room and set up lighting, and I’m looking, thinking, oh my god they’re wearing it-what I made, they’re actually wearing it.”

Following his 2016 graduation from McCaskey, Angel applied to Millersville University in the hopes of pursuing entertainment, but, he said, “It just wasn’t for me. I don’t think I was a college student at all.” 

So, when McCaskey tech director Tim Mercendetti approached Angel at a DJ gig and asked him if he would be interested in interviewing for a position at McCaskey, he went for it. “Ever since then, it’s kind of always worked out,” he said. 

Now, after five years, Angel is an art systems technician at McCaskey, helping with audio, lighting, tech, set design, events, networking, and everything in between. 

It may be a far cry from his original vision of becoming a music producer in New York or California, but, said Angel, “It’s like coming back home. You know where everything is and you know where everyone is at. It’s a really hard thing to explain. No one does it like McCaskey.”

That’s not to say that the job isn’t difficult. “In a day, I’m probably given twelve dates to remember, and keeping up with that is probably the hardest,” said Angel. “At the end of the day, I am burnt. And it definitely comes from being a student and pushing myself a little farther than I should’ve,” he added.

This brings us back to one of the most inspirational things about Angel Gonzalez’s story: the fact that he’s been doing exactly what he’s wanted to do ever since high school. Angel gets to work alongside the very teachers who inspired him as a student, and help the next generation of dedicated and curious Tornados find their passions. 

“I think as a student here, you live in a moment- once you leave here, you realize it’s different,” Angel said. “I get my flowers when I get ‘em, you know? I’m okay. I’d much rather see you guys go off and be in the news or be in some huge show. I want to see students at the Grammys or the Oscars, and be able to say, “oh yeah, I taught that person.”