How long have you been at North Allegheny? 

I taught at Burrell High School for one year (with Mr. Truesdell and Mr. Tozier—fun fact!). We all became NA Tigers eventually. I’ve taught at NASH for 23 years. I went to Peebles, Carson, NAI and NASH when I was growing up in McCandless, so technically I’ve been here forever. Other fun facts: Mr. Long, Mr. Bugel, Ms. Omasits and Mr. Moore were all students in my classes, and I graduated from NA with Ms. Failla and Mr. Kodenkandeth.

Share your best and worst experiences at North Allegheny. 

Best experience: Any day that my students are genuinely excited about what we’re doing in class. You’d be surprised how much that means to your teachers.

Worst experience: Any day I unintentionally say something that hurts somebody’s feelings in class. I try really hard not to do this, but when you talk all day sometimes you put your foot in your mouth.

How much has NASH changed since you were here as a student? 

When I went to NASH in the 90s, we thought the building was old and impersonal…so…not much? The parking lot that students insensitively refer to as “ghetto” actually had the same name, but it was just cinders and mud back then. You could get pretty dirty walking into school. The District is much more diverse now. My wife and I lived in Shaler but we recently moved to NA so that my daughter can go to Franklin Elementary and interact with kids from many different cultures. When I was a youngster here, the Marshall schools didn’t exist. Ross Park Mall and I279 didn’t exist. Most of the big housing developments where NA kids live today were forests and farms. All we did was churn butter and shuck corn at night (just kidding, but if you think Wexford Flats is boring now, you should have been here in the 80s).

What are the different types of teacher cliques at North Allegheny? Are you in one? 

No, I’m a lone wolf. Always have been. I guess we segregate by age? I noticed at the last staff holiday party that the younger teachers stood by themselves and didn’t talk to my crowd. So I suppose I’m in the anonymous middle-age clique. Mr. Venezia will be in the old-guy clique soon…at least I’m not there yet.

Besides teaching, what career could you see yourself doing? 

I love to solve problems and work with my hands. I could see myself as a mechanic who works on cutting-edge technology, like a jet engine or a Formula One race car. I’m always taking stuff apart.

Pick one subject to teach forever, and tell us why you picked it: Euro or Econ? 

Seriously, I can’t pick. I like teaching two totally different subjects—it keeps the day interesting. And, I teach history in economics and economics in history….anyone want to take Euronomics?

Who is coolest person from AP Euro? Who is the lamest? 

Lamest: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He arrogantly over-estimated his abilities, ignored his advisors, and recklessly challenged the other nations of Europe. This led to WWI and the deaths of 20 million people. Even the average soldiers knew that they were fighting because of the failures of incompetent politicians—not for any great cause.

Coolest: Admiral Horatio Nelson. His English sailors loved him because he knew what he was doing, he was brave and bold, and he fought alongside them. His ship was the first in line at the Battle of Trafalgar, when he saved his country from French invasion. Unfortunately, he was a visible target and French soldiers shot him.

Who is the NA teacher equivalent of the coolest person from AP Euro? 

Dan Schall.

Pick a person from AP Euro to switch lives with for a day, and tell us what you’d do in that day. 

I’d be a middle-class merchant or a peasant in medieval Europe. I may be doing the “Louis XIV pose” in the photo, but I think you’d learn the most about history from the perspective of the common man.

Describe your hobbies outside of school. (Please talk about the mandolin)

I love to go geocaching with my daughter, Addie. We’ve explored so many places in the community we would have never seen otherwise, and we’ve spent a lot of quality time together. We’ve also gotten a lot of poison ivy and tick bites. I play mandolin and violin. I’ve played in several local bands, a mandolin orchestra, and a jazz trio over the years. My favorite types of music are Bluegrass and Appalachian Old-Time. If you play guitar, banjo, bass, mandolin or fiddle, then stop by room 356 and we’ll get a NASH bluegrass band going this year. I also spend a lot of time skeet shooting and pheasant hunting.

Explain your fashion sense.

I’m a color-blind, middle-aged dad who needs to drop a few pounds. I just try make sure my socks are the same color. I shop at the Red White and Blue Thrift store in Ambridge…my daughter and I play the “Popping Tags” song on our way there.

Give some advice to us high schoolers! 

MLK said that you should treat every job as though it was the most important job in the world, whether you’re a street sweeper, a teacher, or a President. Could you imagine what the world would be like if every person gave his/her utmost effort? I try to do the best possible job in every class, every day. I’m not always successful, but if you have this attitude, you’ll find that life usually works out pretty well.