Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Fenda, one of many great teachers on campus. He’s taught 3 years so far, all at Santaluces, but he very briefly taught at Park Vista. As for what he teaches, he is in charge of three classes, Honors Astronomy, Honors Physics, and AICE Physics. After school is done for the day, he helps run our school Esports club alongside Ms. Begley.
Mr. Fenda’s desire to become a teacher was largely helped by his family’s background in education, with both his grandmother and father being teachers. During his sophomore year in college, he figured that he would be well suited to teach younger people about the topics important to his life, being physics and astronomy. That being said, those topics are all he would like to do for the foreseeable future. He’s still getting used to having three separate classes, all of which are topics he is most comfortable with, so he’ll most likely stick with astronomy and physics during his time here.
Out of everything he does in his classes, his favorite parts are the labs where he gets to interact with the students, especially when they are discovering something for themselves. He also notes that sometimes his students are just funny, and it’s hard to not laugh at times. Out of all the labs, his favorite that he’s done was to create a roller coaster the first year he taught here. Students were told to use anything they could find around the room, alongside foam tubing and marbles, and apply what they’d learned to create a rollercoaster. Unfortunately, it’s a longer lab, and the only reason they were able to do this was because they had a longer period for SATs. While he’d like to do it again, it’s not something that can be done over multiple days, nor can it be finished in a regular class schedule.
As for who he is outside of school, he is an avid gamer! Currently, he is trying to finish the game Elden Ring, as he doesn’t want to keep hopping between it and other games in his backlog. Other than gaming, he watches YouTube and likes tinkering with his PC hardware. One of the most in-depth answers I got was when I asked what he wanted to do in the future regarding retirement or leaving teaching. While he loves his job, it’s tough, and there are a lot of factors that go into his retirement that would need to be taken into account. A lot of what he said made me understand him a little more, he makes sure to give a lot of thought to important decisions while taking everything as it comes, factoring that in along the way. Nonetheless, his overall plan for life is to settle down at some point, to enjoy working around the house, playing games, and spending time with those he cares about.
Overall, ever since I came here, I’ve only known him as brilliant, kind, and a great teacher; my interview with him only further cemented that view. For those interested in some of his classes or considering taking them, I would fully recommend it. He loves his job and what he teaches, and will most certainly make sure to help you the best he can. He is an important part of our community here on campus, and I speak for all of us when I say that we’re proud to have him.
