Isaac Solano is incredibly proud of his connection to Denver Public Schools.
He graduated from Denver North High School in 2009 and is currently the president of the North High School Alumni Association.
To top it off, he spent the last three years working as the culturally responsive education specialist at DPS — a position that was grant funded by the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
When the grant ran up, he started searching for a new job and landed a spot as the associate dean of the College of Creative Arts & Design at Emily Griffith Technical College.
“I’m super excited for this career change, and I’m super excited to support students who are transitioning out of high school or into a different field, who are maybe a little older and coming back to learn a skill that they’re passionate about,” he says. “I’m honored everyday that I get to support our future culinary artists, our barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, our media and video production people.”
Isaac’s higher education is extensive, giving him well-rounded skills to tackle his new position.
He’s currently in his seventh year of working toward his PHD at the University of Denver. Isaac has worked the whole time trying to obtain his PHD, and he’s excited to finally be done.
“I will graduate by Christmas, and I’m very excited about that because it’s been a long seven years earning my PHD,” he says.
He received his bachelor’s degree in arts in political science with a minor in Chicano and Latino studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I’m a proud Wisconsin Badger,” he says.
Isaac then moved to New York City and earned his master’s degree from Columbia University in education policy and leadership.
He’s excited to take all he’s learned over the years and apply it to Emily Griffith Technical College.
“I’m very excited I get to be apart of the next step for our students, as I think about how they’re going to earn a living and be awesome contributing members of society here around town,” Isaac says.
When he’s not working, he and his partner Samantha love to fish the Rio Grande River and various creeks across Colorado.
His favorite fish to catch? “Brook trout,” he says.
“The biggest brook trout I ever caught was 10 inches. But they’re so fun to catch, because they’re feisty and you have to really hike through some really interesting territory and terrain to catch them.”