Meet Roberto Germán | Executive Director & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roberto Germán and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Roberto, is there something you believe many others might not?
“Fake it ’til you make it.” The notion is one that has been commonly expressed. However, the true conventional wisdom would be to leverage your strengths and find ways to grow in your areas of development. In other words, “Face it ’til you ace it.”
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In addition, to being the Executive Director of Multicultural Classroom, I am an author. My poetry book “Blue Ink Tears: A Collection of Poems”, debuted in January 2023. My writing addresses a range of topics that include, relationships, justice, grief and more. Given my background as an educator (former middle school principal), I also value multimodal learning. As a result, I have created extensions of Blue Ink Tears such as the audiobook, young adult coloring book, children’s coloring book, and spoken word album.
For a number of different reasons, writing and ultimately publishing, Blue Ink Tears was a 20 year process. There were moments of frustration, particularly when I did not have clear insight or the necessary resources to publish my book. However, there is so much that I learned throughout the process and the final product surpassed my expectations.
The fruit of my labor and the long wait has been greatly alleviated by the impact Blue Ink Tears is having on my audience. Nayely Almanzar a student at Northern Essex Community College stated the following, “It was very inspiring and admirable to see living proof of a product of Lawrence, Massachusetts. It is not very often where we have the opportunity to see where the full trajectory of the talent from Lawrence. Your book, Blue Ink Tears, is relatable and resonates deeply with many. It depicts the highs and lows of life surrounding culture, identity, and obstacles. It made me realize that throughout the many hardships one faces, it will not always be night. The sun will rise again.”
Much of my writing and the work I do in general is about social impact. Feedback such as the one Nayely provided further fuels me to continue to build the Multicultural Classroom brand and remain committed to sharing my story. My hope is that in the process of sharing my own story it will inspire others such as Nayely to share theirs.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting the Greater Tampa area I would likely take him to play pickleball at Northlakes Park. There are 14 courts there that are always busy and we have the best competition around. More importantly, it’s a wonderful community of people that is diverse in regards to age, race, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economics. Although I reserve Saturdays for basketball!
Two of the area restaurants we would eat at are El Tipico Criollo, a Dominican restaurant in the Town and Country area and Noble Crust, a deep south and Italian fusion restaurant in the Carrollwood area.
Of course, there’s always a professional sports game we can attend such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning or the Tampa Bay Rays or the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have to shoutout my parents, Cecilio Germán (rest in power) and Melba Harris, as being an integral part of my success. Their strong faith, sacrifice, discipline and work ethic helped to lay down a strong foundation in my life. My parents are Dominican immigrants that came to United States of America to provide a better life for me and my siblings. They have truly been a blessing in my life, and now I try to model similar love and support for my own children.
Website: https://multiculturalclassroom.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/multiculturalclassroom/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/multicultural-classroom
Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2FRGerman2012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/multiculturalclassrm
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI32UVV3dKjMRkM8dsDi3zA
Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@multiculturalclassroom1?_t=8hO5sLD20CN&_r=1
Image Credits
Image on p. 7 FreshCreativo