Post date: Oct 10, 2018 2:02:34 AM
Among the new faces at Iona Prep this year is Mr. Fekkas, the current core and AP physics teacher.
Quickly having become a staple presence in the cafeteria before school and in the physics lab after school, it was not long ago that Mr. Fekkas was sitting on the other side of the classroom. Attending high school in the Bronx, Mr. Fekkas played baseball and participated in theater as a student.
Mr. Fekkas decided to return to high school as a teacher saying, “I like the idea of putting people on the right track when they are supposed to be making the most important choices in their pre-adult life.”
While new to the Prep, Mr. Fekkas is hardly new to teaching or to the Iona community. Having graduated from Iona College with a chemistry major, Mr. Fekkas is a veteran teacher, previously having worked at Christ the King, Saint Raymond's, and Fordham Prep.
As much as Iona students would love to hear that Mr. Fekkas came to Iona after fleeing from the horrors of Fordham, he says, “I was drawn to Iona Prep because I knew that this was a really good school, and I wanted to teach to a higher caliber of learning,” which is a compliment nearly as satisfying to hear.
In fact, Mr. Fekkas has nothing but praise for Iona students, commenting, “I would say that the students are much more socially capable with one another than at some other schools that I have worked at. I am able to hear a lot of conversations beyond mindless dribble; I hear really solid conversations while I’m walking in the halls.”
While Mr. Fekkas has earned a reputation among his classes for his quirky sense of humor and unique PlusPortals posts, he does have one important piece of advice for his students: “take school seriously . . . I wish could go back in time and tell myself that.”
--Michael Bachmann '20