Mr. Horvath

Mr. Horvath is a chemistry teacher at AHS. He’s been teaching for 26 years. He taught one year at Willoughby-Eastlake School District in 1999, and as for the other 25, he’s been at the Aurora City Schools District. 

Horvath graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. He also has a master’s degree in education from John Carroll University, along with a master’s degree in educational administration from Kent State University. 

Horvath was originally planning on becoming a chemist, or a chemistry professor: “My first degree from college was in Chemistry, but not teaching, and I was planning on either being a Chemist or a Chemistry professor in college.” He then goes on to explain that he didn’t want to spend five to six more years working on getting an advanced Chemsitry degree. From that point, he started working as a Chemist in a laboratory. After a few years of doing that, he went back to school to collect his education degree: “After a couple years I decided to go back to school for my education degree.” He realized throughout this time that what he enjoyed most was being a teaching assistant for college classes and laboratories, hence why he went back to school to get an education degree. 

When it comes to being a teacher at AHS, Horvath exclaims that the people are what make it the best: “My favorite part about teaching at Aurora is the people. The staff and students have always been what makes Aurora a great place to live and work!” 

Horvath also recalls a favorite memory, while also sharing how difficult it is to pick just one: “It is difficult to identify one thing that is my favorite because there are so many great memories. One very important memory is from before I was hired, and I came to complete the teaching interview portion of the hiring process. On that day I met Mr. Roberto, who was a science teacher and the chairperson of the Science Department at that time. I mention that because after getting hired I became a colleague and good friend of Mr. Roberto. And now looking ahead, Mr. Roberto is about to retire and he has been here all along the same time I have been here.” It’s heartwarming knowing that our staff at AHS is so friendly and welcoming. 

Horvath also shares another memorable moment from his time at AHS, regarding the major construction project that happened around 15 years ago: “At that time, I moved from the classroom I had been in for 10 years to the classroom I am currently in. I mention that as a great memory because I feel like that felt like a second time starting at Aurora and it was rejuvenating at the time!” 

Horvath explains that as a student himself, science and math were his favorite subjects: “Chemistry and Physics were definitely my two favorites.” He also includes that he enjoyed English as well: “I also enjoyed my English classes very much. Reading was not necessarily my strong point, but writing was the part of English that I like best.” 

Recalling back to his high school years, Horvath shares that his experience was a bit different than most: “...the biggest thing that was unique about my high school experience is that I went to one school for a year and a half and then transferred to another school for the rest of the time.  That switch was definitely the correct decision and I was very happy to have graduated from Wickliffe HS.  It was a small school, but it was a close-knit community like Aurora.” Continuing on, he shares that other than transferring, he had a pretty similar experince to others: “Otherwise, I had a traditional experience in high school – playing baseball, being a member of student council, being involved in NHS, and other typical high school activities.

Following the focus of school, Mr. Horvath enthusiastically shares that stoichiometry is his favorite unit to teach: “In Chemistry classes, my favorite topic to teach has always been stoichiometry!!!” Although stoichiometry might be difficult, Mr. Horvath is always lending a helping hand!

Horvath believes that his best teaching quality regards patience and understanding: “I think that patience and understanding the different needs of students is extremely important and I try to make those things a focus.”

When it comes to impactful people, Horvath recalls that his family members have mainly been the biggest impact on him: “There are a lot of people who have had major impacts on my life.  The main people are my family members though.  Starting with my parents and siblings, and then my wife and children and my in-laws.  I have had the extreme fortune to have the most wonderful family throughout my whole life.” 

Regarding the subject of family, Horvath also shares that outside of school he enjoys spending time with his family: “My favorite thing is definitely spending time with my family, especially being able to see new places while on vacation. We all enjoy the outdoors, so we like to go see various National Parks.” 

As a fun fact Horvath wanted to share that he’s been to so many concerts that he can’t even remember count: “I have been to more than 150 concerts. I don’t know the exact number.” 

Mr.. Horvath has been such a big part of AHS. He’s an understanding teacher with the right amount of patience, and he is never afraid to help students conquer their difficulties within chemistry. How lucky is AHS to have such a fantastic teacher! 

Written by: Maddie Mink