What do Hollywood actor Taylor Lautner and Safety Manager Oscar Lopez have in common?

They’re both called Sharkboy.

“I don’t know who started it,” Lopez said. “One student said it to me, and I asked him, ‘Why do you guys call me Sharkboy?’ He told me, ‘It’s a movie, and you look like one of the characters.’”

In “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D,” Lautner sports black, spiky hair, similar to Lopez’s. However, Lopez’s physical resemblance to the character isn’t the only aspect that contributed to his popular moniker.

“I [catch] people doing bad things,” Lopez said. “Sharks go underwater, and next thing you know, they attack you. That’s what they told me, because they don’t hear me when I come.”

Nicknames bestowed by students are nothing new to Lopez, who was given a nickname during his time at Waltrip High School as well.

“They called me ‘Chihuahua,’ because chihuahuas are little dogs, and I’m small,” Lopez said.

While some people might not appreciate the informality of a nickname, Lopez isn’t bothered by them.

“The kids feel comfortable coming up to me [because of the nickname], so I like it,” Lopez said. “We [have] a little connection. They can come to me and express themselves because they’re not coming to Mr. Lopez; they’re coming to Sharkboy. They don’t even know my [real] name sometimes.”

Lopez formerly worked at Waltrip High School alongside Principal Michael Niggli from 2021 to 2022. When Niggli was set to replace former Principal Michael McDonough at Bellaire in November of 2023, Lopez began working at Bellaire as well.

“He told me he got promoted to Bellaire,” Lopez said. “He wanted me to come with him, so I agreed.”

In the five years Niggli and Lopez have worked together, Niggli has gotten to better understand Lopez as an employee, person and friend.

“He has very good intentions about school and student safety and has a good relationship with students,” Niggli said. “He’s a caring person, takes his job seriously, and has a really good heart.”

Niggli wasn’t the only faculty member who previously worked with Lopez — Office Manager Angelina Solis worked as a clerk at Waltrip before transferring to Bellaire.

“I still remember the day [Lopez] walked in—I was a little annoyed because I had gotten used to having the whole office to myself,” Solis said. “But as the weeks went by, we started talking, and I quickly realized he was such a pleasant person to be around. At the time, I had just moved here on my own and didn’t have many friends, so our conversations became something I truly looked forward to.”

Though Lopez was a safety manager at both Waltrip and Bellaire, he hasn’t always been in this field. Lopez has a background in IT and used to work for Fry’s Electronics, an electronics superstore chain.

Being in a desk-heavy, technology-focused environment made him realize how much he disliked being confined indoors. When the store shut its doors in 2021, he took it as a chance to step out into a job where no two days look the same.

“I get bored being inside the office, and that’s why I like walking around [the school],” Lopez said. “There’s always something happening. Sometimes boyfriend drama, [or] some friends are mad at each other.”

Lopez loves his job for many reasons: it’s close to his house, he works alongside former colleagues and it gives him the opportunity to foster a safe and caring environment for the students at Bellaire.

“I like it here,” Lopez said. “Every time [students] come to school, they come to learn and feel like they're in a safe place. That’s my number one goal.”

One of Lopez’s hopes is to see every student graduate. Through his job, Lopez has been able to interact with and help students at Bellaire overcome moments of doubt.

“I don’t remember the student’s name, but they wanted to give up, and I just talked to him,” Lopez said. “He was [saying] ‘I’m done, I don’t want to do it no more, I’m no good at this [school].’ And I told him ‘no,’ and I made him graduate.”

In his two years working at Bellaire, Lopez has formed strong bonds with students and coworkers alike, especially with Front Office Manager Maria Balderas — although their relationship first got off to a rocky start.

“I was not a big fan of him,” Balderas said. “At that point, I was working at attendance, [and with] him being safety manager, he kind of came to me a lot and asked me, ‘Hey, can I have this student’s schedule? Can you tell me where this student is?’ So then we would kind of chit chat a little bit here and there.”

Over time, Balderas and Lopez got closer, and eventually began dating.

“We go to the movies [and] to the park,” Lopez said. “We like to build Legos. I made her the Legos behind her desk, flowers and a little house. I’m a romantic guy.”

Some students call him ‘Sharkboy,’ others address him as ‘Mr. Lopez’ — but for Balderas, it’s much more personal.

“At first, I called him Mr. Lopez,” Balderas said. “The relationship was very professional. Then it was just little nicknames like ‘babe [or] baby,’ the standard everyone kind of uses. At school, it’s ‘Mr. Lopez.’ In our personal life, it’s ‘honey.’”

At first, the couple kept their relationship private and separate from their work lives.

“At first, we were kind of telling nobody,” Lopez said. “I was sending her flowers under my name, and little by little, people started noticing. After that, I didn’t want to hide it. I wanted everybody to know.”

After dating for almost two years, Lopez proposed to Balderas on Aug. 17. He had help planning the proposal from clerk Ms. Solis.

“I felt partly responsible for them ending up together, so when Mr. Lopez told me he was ready to propose and needed help, I immediately offered to be involved,” Solis said. “It felt right to help plan such a special moment for them.”

Solis met Balderas when she started working at Bellaire four years ago. Over the years, the two had become close friends, and Solis “truly values her friendship”.

“I poured my heart into planning everything and genuinely enjoyed every part of the process,” Solis said. “I am absolutely thrilled to have witnessed and been a part of their love story. I’m just so happy and excited for their future together.”