Meet C. Osvaldo Gomez | Financial Education Advocate, Author, & Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with C. Osvaldo Gomez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi C. Osvaldo, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico and immigrated to San Jose, CA with my family in the early eighties. Being an immigrant and seeing my parents struggle to make ends meet provided me with motivation to work hard (hustle) and prove that I belonged in this country. It also fostered a feeling of tremendous gratitude for the opportunity I was given to better my life. I don’t take US Citizenship for granted. I know its true value having come from a third world country and a condition of poverty. This is why I decided to give back to the state of California, and its citizens, by becoming a public school teacher, financial literacy blogger, YouTuber, and author of books for low-income teens.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was a rocket as a young professional. My first three years as a teacher were spent in the heart of East Side San Jose, working with low-income, academically and behaviorally challenged teens, as a founder teacher of a charter school. It humbled me because it didn’t matter how much I knew and had to share about my content (science) or how professional I could be (with excellent lesson plans, e.g.). What mattered was accepting my students as the people they were then and there, and balancing high expectations with their socio-economic realities. I’d take this lesson to my next position as a high school assistant principal. I was an administrator by the age of twenty-eight, hired as the first Assistant Principal in school history at Lakeside High School in Lake Elsinore (I’d moved to Oceanside with my first wife) and I really thought I was “all that an a bag of chips” for having accomplished this feat. What an immature fool I was. It was there that I earned the nickname, “Homie G,” from students. Why? They said that like a good friend– a homie–I told students what they needed to hear, even if it wasn’t what they wanted to hear (from an adult) and I listened to them. Unfortunately, the relationship I had with my boss, the principal, was not productive, and by year three I was demoted. To my surprise, the teachers at my site got together, wrote a letter of support, and one of them read it at the board meeting. This led to my being taken off the proverbial blacklist, and afforded a fair assessment of my employment history when my current employer, Vista Unified, called for a reference check. I was hired by VUSD in the same capacity and served as an A.P. until I burned out and sabotaged my career by blogging while at school. Prior to this I’d gotten featured by the San Diego Union Tribune, a piece written by Fred Dickey. My superiors didn’t like what I had to say about education. By my tenth year as a high school admin, I was done. I was a jaded, bitter, and passionless professional and it was time to go. This was during a recession and my current wife and I were concerned about money. I didn’t tell her what I was doing. She knew I got in trouble once I was placed on paid administrative leave. The outcome was that I was once again demoted and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I returned to the classroom, and have been teaching 8th grade science and a success principles and financial literacy elective since 2015. I’ve been the best version of myself since then, authoring four books for teens, being featured on Money Magazine, a podcast twice, and honoring the nickname, Homie G. To distinguish myself from the other “homie g’s” out there, I’ve added the word, Teacher, so now I’m Teacher Homie G on YouTube with pen name, C. Osvaldo Gomez. What I’d like for everyone who reads this story to understand is that career moves, particularly promotions, aren’t always what’s best for you or your personal brand outside of work. It’s okay to pivot. If something doesn’t make you happy, stop doing it! Preferably sooner than later. And get back up whenever you fall. No matter how many times you take a punch and get dropped.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Monday–Tour of Downtown Oceanside & Harbor–California Surf Museum, Top Gun House, Pier, and lunch at the Harbor (Joe’s Crab Shack). After lunch, I’d take my guest a couple miles up the PCH to Carlsbad, Village. Walk around, go down to the beach, and then get a glass of wine at Carruth Cellars Tasting Room. Hang out there talking and catching up before going home. For dinner…order takeout from Pho Oceanside or Thai food from Ocean Thai Cuisine.

Tuesday–Tour of Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego (Gaslamp). Eat lunch or dinner at Cafe Sevilla, where I used to go Salsa dancing with my wife. A bit of nostalgia for me and great food for my guest.

Wednesday–Beach Day. Rest and relaxation under my 10 x 10 canopy tent having some cold drinks, sandwiches, and snacks. Watch the sun set.

Thursday–Wine tour at Temecula Valley. Buy a Grapeline Wine Tours package and let someone else do the driving while we enjoy the wine.

Friday–Vista Village tour–Eat lunch at The Yellow Deli, a unique spot with great food, and have one of my favorite drinks at Belching Beaver Brewery, their famous Peanut Butter Stout.

Saturday–Carne Asada barbecue at my home. The carne asada meat must be “Ranchera” or skirt steak from Primo Market on Morse St. in Oceanside. They have the best steak meat in all of Oceanside!

There are a ton of things to do in North San Diego County but these would be my top things to have someone else experience.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to start by giving a shoutout to my father, Carlos O. Gomez, Sr. for showing me, by taking me to his various side gigs as a tween and teen, that it was easier to go to school and study then to do physical labor. Second on my list is my high school track coach, the late, Charles “Chuck” Bean for teaching me that success takes daily preparation, practice, and commitment. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t include my San Jose City College track coach, the late Gene R. Neely, who taught me that winning, not just on the track, but in life, starts in your head, by always having a positive attitude and outlook. Lastly, I’d like to give a shoutout to Robert Kiyosaki, whose books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Cashflow Quadrant, completely changed the trajectory of my life. Instead of being content with college degrees and a “safe” job as an educator, I endeavored to use my energy and resourcefulness for buying or controlling assets, and lowering my taxable income.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosvaldogomez/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cosvaldogomez/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cosvagomez?lang=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@teacherhomieg

Image Credits
N/A (My pictures)