Nelson Lopez

Yearbook Sales Representative, Miami, Florida

I was a teacher for 15 years in Bradenton, Florida. I taught Language Arts and Journalism for all 15 years, which allowed me to advise the newspaper and yearbook. The opportunity to be a yearbook adviser opened my world to Walsworth Yearbooks. I have now been a Yearbook Sales Representative in South Florida with Walsworth for the past five years.

My job is going to schools and teaching kids how to create a memory that will last a lifetime. I’m like the fun uncle who fills them up with sugar and then doesn’t have to stay to see the effects of the sugar rush.

I took over the yearbook from the previous teacher at my school who ran the program into the ground. I inherited another yearbook company contract that I immediately left after my first year. My Walsworth yearbook rep, Sabrina, came to my rescue and taught me how cool yearbook is. I happened to ask about her job during one of the visits and she led me down the pathway of becoming a rep. It was a hard decision to leave my career of 15 years, but one that I’m so happy I took. I’ve never looked back.

As a former teacher, I love going into the classroom and teaching students. I love it when I see the spark occur in a student when they realize journalism is something they feel strongly about pursuing in the future. It’s great being able to still do what I love in a different form.

My personalized coffee mug would say: “I do yearbooks for a living… Yes, it is a job.”

My family is my biggest motivator in this job and in life. I have a wife of 20 years and three phenomenal boys who all take after their mother. I love providing them with all of these new opportunities they never had while I was a teacher. They have grown into mini Walsworth reps by handing out my business cards at their schools and telling their teachers how great I am.

I have two boys in high school and a three-year-old at home. Our three-year-old is our COVID blessing who is either going to keep me and my wife young or age us extremely fast. We are a family that eats every meal together and genuinely loves spending time together. They are all my pride and joy, and I do what I do for them.

A fun fact about me is that I love mixed martial arts and am a huge fan of the UFC. I’ve been training in jiu-jitsu for more than 10 years and love being able to unleash all the stresses of the world on the mats. I also love getting humbled by boys while playing Fortnite and talking trash to all their friends on the microphone. We are also a big escape room family. We have a perfect record when it comes to escaping on time and are always looking for new rooms to try.

Walsworth Yearbooks has provided my family with the life we always wanted. The work hours have allowed me to watch my three-year-old grow up and have the opportunity to be there to see it all. The job has made it possible for my wife to leave her job to raise our youngest at the house and not have to go through the daycare system. We are beyond blessed to be able to live the life we are now, thanks to this job.

We are active members of our church and serve every week. My wife helps at a women’s shelter every year during Christmas time.

My favorite memory of working at Walsworth is a tradition that was implemented at one of my schools. Every time I go to that school, the students start tapping their desks and chanting my name. While I’m walking in the hallway I can hear the beat and the name echoing. When I open the door it hits me in the feels every single time. We are going on five years of this intro and it never gets old.