Written by Melissa Nunez-Martinez and Rowen Sullivan, Staff Writers.
Mr. Portillo, Poly’s favorite math whiz and marvel enthusiast, was interviewed by Spotlight staff for the next edition of Teacher Feature.
Although Mr. Portillo has a deep understanding and love for math, he wasn’t initially attracted to math for a career. In fact he had so much love for history when he was in high school, and was “actually very close to becoming a history major.” He grew up watching historical documentaries from educational channels such as the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, starting his passion for the subject.
When asked what inspired him to begin teaching, he enthusiastically stated it was his former history teacher from high school. He said, “My history teacher saw me tutoring one of my classmates in math, and she was like ‘Oh you sound like you know what you’re doing. You should think about becoming a math teacher.’” This same teacher also recommended Mr. Portillo to join a teacher education program, furthering his love for the career. Mr. Portillo has now been a teacher for 15 years, making a lasting impact on many students.
Furthermore, Mr. Portillo is in the final stages of attaining his PHD, hoping to finally be done in April of 2027. His dissertation focuses on the growth mindset: demonstrating the importance of a positive mindset through trial and error. He confirms the rumors of having “the itch to move up” and teaching the “next generation of math teachers.”
Despite Mr. Portillos amazing math abilities, he is involved in many other things on campus. He is specifically known for helping with Link Crew, claiming he not only “loves being in the spotlight”, but has a lot of fun with the other teachers involved in Link Crew. He is also involved with Poly’s participation in the California Math League competition, as Mr. Portillo values it because he believes it’s beneficial to Poly through showing the world that we as a school love math.
Besides his passion for math, Mr. Portillo takes a keen interest in Marvel and Star Wars. His classroom is heavily adorned with Marvel Funko Pops and Star Wars posters demonstrating his love for both franchises. He says he grew up with the 90’s comics “X Men, Spider-Man, Hulk”, his dad initially introducing him to Star Wars. Mr. Portillo states that if he could be any Marvel character he’d be Doctor Strange because of the new title that awaits him after he attains his PHD, Dr. Portillo.
Poly is honored to have a math teacher as amazing as Mr. Portillo and his hard work towards achieving his doctorate and becoming a professor makes us proud to have him as a fellow Poly Bear.