Once the new school year rolled around, students welcomed many new faces, including a few new middle school teachers. For instance, the departure of former math teacher Ms. Van Kirk left an opening for a new teacher. That position was filled by Mr. Wilson. While some people miss their former teacher, many students love the personality of Mr. Wilson. This is Mr. Wilson’s first time teaching after coming from a finance background.  

Mr. Wilson is a parishioner at St. Robert Parish, and one day at Mass Fr. Enrique mentioned that St. Robert was looking for new teachers. He was at a point in his life “where conflicts of interest, high demands, and a terrible work/life balance provided a catalyst for [him] to seek more personally gratifying work.” Mr. Wilson thinks the message from Father occurred at a favorable time; he is very grateful to be here now after hearing that call for help. 

One of the reasons Mr. Wilson decided to start teaching was from his father.  His father was a successful engineer, and just like every other dad, he had the tendency to tell the same story over and over. Mr. Wilson’s repeated story highlighted the importance of teachers. His father claimed that he was a bad student until one of his teachers made a big difference and changed his outlook on school. One teacher was the catalyst for turning Mr. Wilson’s father on course to provide for and raise a great family. 

Mr. Wilson says that he also thinks about the need for the math that he teaches in his everyday life. He even says, “when [he is] coaching baseball, playing tennis or lifting weights [he is] thinking in terms of force vectors, spin rates, probability theory, etc to become a better player.” He says that building math literacy is extremely valuable to teach because of how much it can help in people’s everyday lives. This very much pleases our principal Mrs. Beckmann because she has been hearing very positive and encouraging feedback from parents, students, and other staff around the school. She believes that “Mr. Wilson is off to a very strong start in becoming an excellent math teacher and a valuable member of the St. Robert team.”  

Something that Mr. Wilson loves about teaching at our school is having the school be close to Falbo Bros. Pizza. Falbo Bros. is one of his favorite local pizza restaurants in the city. He has also felt very welcomed amongst the St. Robert community from day one, which “is something [he] had never experienced before at other companies.” He noted that something he truly loves about the school is that the community shares his own values. He claims that “Being able to start each work day together in prayer is very neat.” 

People should be looking forward to the future of the middle school math program with the addition of an excellent teacher in Mr. Wilson. With great opportunities like those he is provided in his classroom, students can grow and learn to be more fluent with math in their everyday lives. Having an entertaining and knowledgeable teacher will bring excitement to classrooms and plenty of benefits to learning. While Mr. Wilson has only been at St. Robert for a few months, students and staff are looking forward to the bright year ahead with his shining personality in the school.