JMS’s Musician and Collector: Mr. Rivera

At Jupiter Middle School, the students are guided by a dedicated staff team, including Mr. Rivera, who manages student conduct and teaches history. However, there is much more to this educator that meets the eye…

Meet the Dean

Mr. Rivera is what is known as a Dean, or someone who manages the overall conduct of the students here at Jupiter Middle School, and he also teaches history classes. He’s been working in education for almost 10 years, first pursuing his career in education when his wife recommended it, calling it “one of the best decisions I’ve made career-wise.” Before working here at JMS, he worked in Mental Health for a long time, eventually moving to Florida and getting hired at a job fair. “I genuinely love my job, and I love the students here. All of the kiddos here have a special place for me.” He thinks back on how his wife used to say her students were like her own kids. “At the time, I didn’t understand that, but now that I am working in education for close to 10 years, I get it.” Beyond the students, he loves working with the teachers and administrators, adding, “I genuinely love coming to work and look forward to it every day. It’s a feeling that I can’t explain, but this place is very special to me.”

Musical Life

Believe it or not, Mr. Rivera is also a dedicated musician, being involved in music for over 30 years! He started with violin lessons young, moved to playing the trombone and baritone in middle school, and learned how to read music. However, his true passions, the drums, really started when he attended his youth group in high school when they lacked a steady drummer. “Long story short, I kind of kept at it and then one day, BOOM! I got it.” he explains. He fully immersed himself into music when he bought his first drum set in graduate school. “I started taking lessons, and playing a ton of CD’s and just kept playing and playing until I learned more and more about the instrument!”

Mr. Rivera plays Gretsch drums, his favorite brand. He explains, “I’m the guy that you hate asking the questions, ‘What kind of music do you like?’ because my answer is everything. I love it all.” He’s been involved in different projects ranging from jazz to Latin, rock, and country! His first professional “gig” was with a country band called Burnt Biscuit nearly 12 years ago, and he was previously in a rock band called Lochness Monster. Mr. Rivera says, “We put out a couple of singles and an EP (extended play) of completely original music.” Currently, been with the Andrew Morris Band for almost 3 years. “The dudes that are in Andrew Morris Band, sadly, lost their drummer of 20 years, and my name was thrown in the hat, and I was somehow contacted.” he explains. The Andrew Morris band is considered one of the best country bands in South Florida, even having the opportunity to open for Chris Young, a country superstar, at a private fundraiser event in Weston, FL.

Collections and Hobbies

If you ever visit Mr. Rivera’s office, you’ll see different collections of DC superheroes and Funko Pops. He started collecting Funko Pops when everyone was on lockdown during COVID, and he watched a Netflix documentary about the origin of Funko, “I was watching, and then they showed some of their figures like He-Man and some other cool vintage figures that I grew up with.” After seeing that, he knew he had to have them, and he moved up to buying DC figures as well. He explained that he’s been “behaving in a way” and hasn’t bought any Funkos lately, but has been “going mental on some cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures.”

While none of his items are worth an insane amount of money, some are very close to his heart. He explains, “It’s a Lion Voltron set from the 80’s. The one that I got last December was a remake of the original one from the 80’s. That thing made me super happy.” He was also able to get his hands on some of his favorite figures, Thundercats, from when he was a kid. “If there was one figure [I had to keep], it would have to be my Voltron,” he exclaims.

Whether he is guiding students as the Dean, drumming out with the Andrew Morris Band, or organizing his collections, Mr. Rivera has found his connection here at JMS with the students and our community here in Jupiter.