Alex Bertran ’24 is a hard worker and a bold leader. The impact that he’ll leave after he graduates will be felt, especially in Jesuit High School Sacramento’s robotics team, where he served as chief operating officer.

Alex’s leadership style is characterized by a strong desire to ensure that everyone on the team is looked after, especially those younger than him. 

“As a leader, I find it really important to teach the future generation, especially in Rovotics,” Alex said. “We’ve won for the past three years, and I want to keep that going after I’m gone. I would like to increase the win streak, and that can’t really be done without sharing my and everyone else’s knowledge to the future. I find it very important to spend time with the underclassmen and bring them up.”

In addition to being a passionate leader, Alex is a dedicated worker. Rovotics CEO and Software Lead James Randall ’24 has seen how Alex gives his all in everything he sets his mind to.

“When he gets fixated on a project, he’ll just pump 12 hours a day into something that he’s curious about,” James said. “There was a time that I remember when he was joining the robotics team – he took some of our hardware home and made this crazy disaster space in his room with a bunch of robotics hardware and he wrote code all day. He’s really driven that way.”

Alex’s hard work isn’t just limited to the robotics team. Computer Science teacher Mr. Peter Strawn ’04 has taught Alex all four years and has seen Alex’s work-ethic first-hand. 

“He’s an incredible student, he’s a brilliant programmer; some of the work he’s been doing this year in game development has been astonishing,” Mr. Strawn said. “It’s been really fun to watch his growth over these four years. He’s just a phenomenal student.”

Alex credits much of his success to the Jesuit community, which he feels has allowed him to flourish as a friend.

“As a freshman throwing myself out there and hanging out with a group of kids I’d never even met before; it was good – they accepted me immediately, and I gained some good friends that I am still very close with today,” Alex said. “Through that, I’ve also gotten a lot of opportunities to grow as a person and in self-confidence because Jesuit is such a welcoming community.”

Mr. Strawn appreciates having Alex in his classroom and looks forward to where Alex takes his skills next.

“I’ve really enjoyed having him as a student; it’s always really cool for me to see a student come in as a freshman, and have them every year and see that maturity,” Mr. Strawn said. “I’m excited to see in a year or two or three or 10 where he is and what he’s doing, and to be in touch with him there, because I’m sure it’s going to be pretty awesome.”