Max Von Euw, Chemistry
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I’m a San Francisco native and went to French American International school. I studied chemistry at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and joined Teach For America. After college, I taught in Brooklyn before returning to California and taking a job at Mills High School. I love to travel. I took a year off from Mills to teach in Tanzania in East Africa. Last year my family and I moved to Latvia where I taught before Aragon hired me. I come from a long line of teachers in my family.
What was your experience in Tanzania like?
Tanzania was an interesting experience. I had a buddy who started a nonprofit to increase educational opportunities for students and start a health clinic. I gained a lot of learning on the ground. I lived at a boarding school,taught there part time and then would hike two hours to a remote village and interview locals about some of the issues they had encountered to create a data-driven healthcare system because they didn’t have access to a lot of healthcare. We built a health clinic there and now the village is building a home for a doctor. I made some good friends in East Africa. It was definitely a great experience.
“I have a four-and-a-half-year-old son. He is my passion”
What are some of your hobbies and passions outside of school?
I have a four-and-a-half-year-old son. He is my passion. I love to box, not people, but bags that can’t hit you back. I love to cook, I enjoy bike riding and reading the news. A lot of my time is dedicated not only to my family, but also to trying to be the dopest teacher ever.
How has the Aragon community been for you so far?
Fan-freaking-tastic. I know that COVID has hindered a lot of what Aragon is all about. But everybody that I have met has been super welcoming, the chemistry and science departments have been incredible. It is very welcoming and opening. Just a very open kind of community. What I love most is that the students are fantastic and I know that after a year of remote learning, or virtual learning, it feels great to be back in person.
Jennifer Meyer, Foods and Nutrition, Culinary Arts
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I came to teaching as a second career, after working in the restaurant industry. I have three kids and have been teaching consumer science class, including cooking and sewing, for three years in the East Bay.
How was the restaurant industry?
It’s an exciting industry. I grew up in foster care for eight years, so for me, school was never a big priority, but getting to work was. So the restaurant industry was a place where I felt very welcomed, but it’s hard work.
When did your passion for cooking start?
I think my passion for cooking came after I started working at restaurants. I wanted to do things in fashion for a very long time, and I actually went down to Los Angeles and worked as a costumer for a little while. But while I was there, I realized that when I was working on these shoots, that I was more fascinated by what was going on in the craft services, which is the food department for these movies and television. And so, I was drawn back into the restaurant business.
“I felt very welcomed [in the restaurant industry] but it’s hard work”
What are your hobbies and other passions outside of school?
I really like to sew and make and create. I like to do DIY projects at my house. I have all my own tools. I love to build shelves, build things in my backyard. I love to sew and make things for my home. Basically all of my passions have to do with making things for the world around me, and that might come from being in foster care. I never really had my own things, so now that I’m an adult, I create my atmosphere to be as comfortable as possible for myself.
Daniel Rubino, Algebra 1, Geometry, Personal Finance
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois, and I went into the Navy a few weeks after I graduated high school at 17. I really appreciated that experience, and I ended up staying for four years. I served in the Army National Guard for three years after that. I worked in the design field in Chicago and New York City for about 10 years. I was really unhappy working in the design field and I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but I didn’t have the confidence to do so. I was having dinner with one of my friends in New York and his father, and one of their former students came in to tell my friend’s father how much they appreciated him as a teacher and missed him and how much they added to their lives. And I’m sitting there listening to all this, like, what am I doing with my life? So I decided to go back to college and get a teaching degree. I love teaching, which I’ve done for 10 years in Chicago, Arizona and California. My dog is my best friend. He’s a big part of my life. I’ve had him for nine years now.
How was your experience in the Navy?
It was life fulfilling. It was challenging. It was scary. And it’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I got to travel and meet so many people, and the proudest thing I’m able to say is that I’m a veteran. Just being able to say that I’m a veteran means everything to me.
“[The Navy] was life-fulfilling. It was challenging….It’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had“
Did you like math from a young age or did you only like math after you started learning how to teach it?
I did not like math growing up. When I started to work with algebra in high school, I enjoyed the mystery of algebra. I had to kind of figure things out and use variables. I liked that aspect of it. But I failed algebra in high school and I had to retake it as a senior. I really started to appreciate math more once I started to actually teach it to students. Then I understood, ‘Wow, this is, this is completely different.’ I understand math differently.
Why did you choose to teach math?
I started out as a history teacher and teaching history didn’t mesh with me too well. I love the progression of math, how it builds off of everything and I don’t look at math as math. I look at it like a puzzle. That’s why I like teaching math and another thing that stands out is that most students say how much they cannot learn math and how much they hate math. They don’t understand math, they never use math, and I don’t believe any of that. I’m able to really break down those barriers with anybody that I teach or work with and that’s what I really appreciate about it the most, is that I can really make a difference in somebody by teaching math no matter what confidence level.
Any additional information you want to add?
I don’t know whether any of my fellow teachers are veterans, and I just hope on Veteran’s day, the school does something, or maybe acknowledges Veteran’s Day in the school newspaper. Just for us. That’s all.
Michael Stultz, AP English Language and Composition, English 3
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I just moved to California this January from Madrid, Spain, where I taught International Baccalaureate English and History. Before that, I taught [for] ten years in New Jersey where we raised three kids. I taught in Indiana, where I’m originally from, for ten years.
What are your hobbies and passions outside of school?
I used to be a semi-professional cyclist, and I still like to bike. I raced for ten years, road cycling. I also mountain and gravel bike. I retired from rigorous biking, though, after an accident last year. I’m just riding for fun now. Not racing anymore and not going downhill crazy fast like I used to.
“I hope to be here for a long time”
How did your passion for biking start?
My mom bought me a twelve gear bike when I was a teenager. Since then, biking has taken off in this country because Americans have done well in European racing. Like Greg Lamond and Lance Armstrong, I just picked it up in college, and I loved it because it’s a great way to get healthy, to make friends and to be competitive.
How has the Aragon community been for you?
Everyone’s been very accepting, they’ve embraced me with open arms. The students are very respectful and have really been engaging and have really challenged me to become a better teacher. I’ve been very excited about this opportunity that I’ve been given and I hope I can be here for a long time.
