My name is Daniel Sena. I was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on December 24, 1973.

Since I was a child, the United States fascinated me. I watched T.V. shows from the United States; I sometimes watched shows from Disney World. And I would say to myself, “I don’t think I’ll ever go to Disney World.”

When I was ten, I arrived in Austin. I attended Langford Elementary School. And when I arrived, I looked at what the schools were like and I said to myself, “Wow, this is really nice.” They gave me a desk all to myself. The books and everything. I saw a television, a computer. When I was a kid, I used to see those things in the bank. And I was like, “Wow!” They took me to art, to music. They gave me lunch. I didn’t know English, but I communicated with my classmates. And it took me two years to learn English and to truly communicate. I struggled because English is a difficult language. But I liked it a lot. I really liked school.

I’ve always loved the school environment. I wanted to be a math teacher. But I dropped out when I was in tenth grade. I was a sophomore. I had a scholarship to Notre Dame. I had a 3.9 GPA at the time. I was number five in my class of 405. But suddenly, I dropped out. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret dropping out of school.

But I still wanted to be a teacher. So one day I decided to come back and said, “What can I do in a school?” I went to interview to be a custodian. I worked at Zilker Elementary for two years. Then I became a custodial supervisor at Lamar Middle School. I was there for 13 years, and then I left. Then I came back and worked at Kealing for two and a half years. And then at McCallum, where I’ve been for 14 years. I’ve been in the district for 30 years.

I really like high school. The games, the pep rallies, everything about it fascinates me. I feel like I’m back in school. One day a teacher said to me, “I want you to talk to the AVID students. Tell them your story.” I went and I said to them, “No matter how hard it gets. Don’t drop out of school. I dropped out, and I regret it.” And I said, “If I look at you in the hallway and hear you talking about not liking school and all that—no. Remember what I did. I dropped out, and I regret it.”

Almost two years ago I had a stroke, and it was very difficult. One day I was standing in my room. Suddenly, I fainted and fell. They said it was due to high blood pressure. They called 911, they came. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t walk. I remember my brother saying, “You had a stroke.” And they explained that it’s a brain hemorrhage. First, they told me they didn’t know how I would end up. Then they told me it would take me two years to walk. They had to teach me how to eat, how to speak, how to read. In three months, I was back here. The stroke happened on October 28th. February 12th was when I returned to McCallum. They explained to me that this wasn’t normal, that for some reason I recovered faster than possible.

I say it’s because so many people helped me. They supported me with calls, with letters. Mr. Baxa, Mr. Featherstone. A lot of teachers came to see me. Ms. Nelson. That was a very beautiful experience. I think McCallum is the best school. I know everyone thinks their schools are the best, but what I’ve experienced at McCallum has been very beautiful. I think I wouldn’t have recovered so quickly if I hadn’t been here. And I think it’s like having 2,000 people in my family. Even this morning, I was carrying some things in my hand and a student was going by, and he turned around to open the door for me. And all of that makes me feel good.

What I want to say, not just to those who have had a stroke, but to those who have any illness, is that in one way or another, the people who love you will help you. Don’t give up. I didn’t give up, and here I am. The support of people, the affection, the love — that will help you recover.

Sports make me happy. Mickey Mouse makes me happy. I’m a Mickey Mouse fan. Don’t tell me there’s more than one Mickey. It has to be just one Mickey who goes from one place to another quickly. I have Mickey T-shirts. When I was a kid, my dream was to go see Disney World. But I knew I was poor, so no chance. But when I was 24, I went to Disney World for the first time. I’ve been four times now. The first time I went, I saw Mickey, I grabbed him, and I hugged him.

It also makes me happy to watch a pep rally, when the band is marching and we’re all rooting for McCallum to win. Those things stay with me, and when I go home I keep thinking about them. I think one of the things that makes me happy is seeing other people happy. That makes me happy too.

For the future, I want health. I want peace. And I want to be at McCallum for another 20 years. So perhaps when your kids come, I’ll be here.

Interviewed by Elizabeth Nation, Will Bowman, and Magnolia Smith. Interview edited by Evan Solis.