South San Antonio ISD (SSAISD) is proud to welcome Mr. Ricardo Marroquin as the new principal at West Campus High School (WCHS).

Mr. Marroquin comes to us from Harlandale ISD, where he most recently served as principal of McCollum High School. He has a total of 18 years of education experience and has served the last nine in a principal position.

He grew up on the Southside of San Antonio, near Military Drive and Pleasanton, in the heart of Harlandale ISD. He attended Texas A&M University and soon after graduation, began working for Child Protective Services.

“During college, I changed my major halfway through from Engineering to Sociology with the goal of helping kids in any way possible,” Marroquin said. “That’s what brought me into education, and it's been a great journey and the perfect fit for me.”

Marroquin officially joined the district during the summer and was able to attend the SSAISD Leadership Retreat, where he was warmly welcomed by district administration and staff.

“Since the first moment I joined the district, the welcoming and support has been amazing, coming from the Central Office and then meeting staff and parents here on campus,” he stated. “The first few weeks of school have been awesome, students here have been great and have embraced the ideas that I’m bringing, and I believe they are excited for the future of this school.”

When he learned of the opening for WCHS principal, he says he was motivated to apply because he saw a lot of opportunity to help a campus that's on the rise.

“When this position was put out there, everyone that I knew on this side of town was telling me how much pride this community had,” he said. “There is a lot of history here and people remember what West Campus was. I want students today to have those same memories and experiences and I’m excited to implement new ideas to grow the culture of this campus and get that done.”

Some of those ideas include having WCHS students visit the feeder elementary and middle school campuses to instill Cougar pride and inspire younger students to do great things. He also wants to include more events that are open to the community to invite members and anyone interested in learning more about WCHS.

“I believe in giving students the opportunities to be seen, show off their skills and talents and to give back to the community as well,” Marroquin said.

Marroquin also has plans to build up the West Campus athletics and fine arts programs as he sees them as crucial to the development of a well-rounded student.

“Having the extracurriculars available to students outside of the classroom can have a major impact on how they perform in the classroom. When students can express themselves in whatever way they choose, it frees up room for them to learn and soak in everything in the classroom and connects them more to the school and community,” he stated. “It also helps us stand out amongst our competition and lets them know what we’re doing right.”

Outside of being a school principal, Mr. Marroquin loves to enjoy music in any way. His preferences are heavy metal and punk rock. He plays the drums and likes to attend concerts every now and then.

“It is a very big piece of me, I love music with energy and heart,” he said.

Mr. Marroquin is hopeful that he along with his team of administration and staff will be able to show West Campus and all of the positive things it brings to its students and the surrounding community.

“I’m happy to be here, I see a lot of great things coming to West Campus and I’m determined to take this campus to the top. We won’t be afraid of any competition and we will excel in fine arts, academics and athletics,” Marroquin exclaimed. “My plan is for people to take notice of how special this school is, how great our students are and embrace all the possibilities ahead.”