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I am the Latin Teacher at Collinsville High School, and I also sponsor the CHS Latin Club. My pronouns are he/him. You can typically find me in Room 225, and I'm often at the school for at least an hour after dismissal.
I live and breathe for the Latin language and Roman culture. When I was in high school, my school did not offer Latin, but almost by accident, my mother signed me up for Latin lessons outside of the classroom. I quickly fell in love with the subject, and I can still remember the extreme sense of awe that I felt when, for the first time, I read a 2,000 year old speech in its original language (trust me, Cicero's Catilinarians just have that affect on people). I loved Latin as a hobby, but when I learned in college that teaching Latin was actually a feasible career choice, I immediately switched my major so that I could fully dedicate my life to the subject. Today, I teach CHS Latin students at all four levels, and I am intensely grateful that I have the opportunity to share this passion with such enthusiastic and enjoyable students.
Even outside of my Latin life, my students describe me as incredibly geeky. I have a collection of over 70 Transformers and an arrangement of Legos that rivals that of Will Farrel in the Lego movie. I am an avid gamer, a huge Star Wars fan, and an anime connoisseur. I enjoy creative writing in English as well as Latin (just don't ask to read one of my poems!). I live in Saint Louis with my lovely wife. I'm not a pet-person (in fact, I'm terrified of dogs). However, I do keep fish and shrimp in my fish tank. I'm an avid traveler; I love vibrant cities and unusual architecture, and I am also a bit a roller coaster enthusiast (I've now ridden coasters in 5 different countries, and I'm always looking to add to that list!). I'm not incredibly athletic, but I do rock climb, so catch me on the crag!
I absolutely love helping and talking to my students, so if you ever want to chat about anything, feel free to drop by my room! (As long as I'm not teaching, of course!)
Professional info (for those who are interested):
Professional info (for those who are interested):
I graduated from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching Latin in 2015
I am also licensed to teach English at the High School level
I lived in Rome and studied the material culture there very closely for a few months while studying at the American Academy at Rome
I currently serve as Treasurer for the Illinois Classical Conference
I currently serve as the Head Testing Coordinator for the Illinois Junior Classical League
Professional Awards
2025 American Classical League Charles Humphreys Award for Innovative Pedagogy
2025 Classical Association of the Middle, West, & South Kraft Award for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching
2024 Society for Classical Studies Excellence in Teaching Award
2021 Illinois Junior Classical League Latin Teacher of the Year
2017 Ferrand Baker Illinois Latin Teacher of the Year
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