What is your favorite color?
“It used to be blue, but I think now it’s green.”
Do you have any pets?
“I do; I have a gigantic cat named Fred… He’s a big guy.”
What’s your favorite hobby outside of school?
“I’m a big video game player. I love baseball… and music.”
When did you know you wanted to become a teacher? Did you have other careers in mind?
“I was a chemical engineer before I was a teacher. I started dating [the person] who is now my wife back in 2011, and she’s a high school teacher. [I saw] what she did on a day-to-day basis, how much she liked it, how hard she worked, and also how teaching was like a part of her personality instead of just a job or career. And then I thought to myself: I really love math, I think I would like working with teenagers, and I think I would like teaching, so let me just try it.”
What have been some of your favorite moments teaching?
“The day after the Algebra Regents, I saw a couple students of mine who were working their butts off, and struggled throughout the year, and when they got the grade that they passed, they gave me the most electric high five, and just seeing the look on their face and how happy they were, I was like ‘this is awesome’… Another one… [during the Blue Notes performance] in ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, Aaden was doing his guitar solo… and when it [got] to the shredding part, he flipped his hair back, and he just had the most contagious smile I’ve ever seen on anybody’s face.”
What’s something you wish your students knew about you?
“I feel like I’m a pretty open book… My father used to race motorcycles professionally.”
What advice would you give to your students about growing up?
“Above everything… never be embarrassed to be yourself, because only good things will come from that, and if any negative things come from that, it will come from people who you wouldn’t want to associate with anyways… It’s more rewarding to… let go of that protection.”
What’s been your favorite song/ set list from Blues Devils so far?
“I think this year’s ‘Sweet Child of Mine’.”