Meet Mr. MeCHEM(istry)

Written by: Kayla Strike

Photos by: Mr. Mechem 

It is official! After two years of LTO ( long term occasional) teaching here at T.A Blakelock, Mr Mechem is officially a part of the TAB Science and Math department as of September 2024. This year he is teaching grade 9 science and grade 12 chemistry, but here at the TABloid we are sure all the students and staff would like to learn a little more about him. 

As a teenager Mr Mechem attended Mississauga Clarkson Secondary School. Post-secondary, he attended Brock University as a part of their Concurrent Education program, with a Bachelor of Science degree. After graduating university, Mr. Mechem worked for two years teaching at Iroquois Ridge Secondary School before beginning his time here at T.A Blakelock. 

A word of advice he would give to students who are looking to continue with their education post secondary is, “ Choose something you really want to pursue to make yourself happy - you will make ends meet. Don't do something just to make your parents happy”. 

Mr. Mechem always knew he wanted to be a teacher. He states that there is something about the “helping” aspect of teaching that he finds “really appealing”. His joy for his job continues out of the classroom as he participates in organizing and supervising several extracurricular activities at T.A Blakelock. This includes TAB Scholars, the Environmental Conservation club, and coaching the tennis team.

In his spare time Mr. Mechem enjoys watching Pokémon, his favorite show, as it reminds him of his childhood. As well as this, Mr. Mechem states that if he could only listen to one album for the rest of his life it would be Brat by Charli XCX. Mr. Mechem has been a fan of the artist for the last 7 years and has loved being able to see her career “blow up” knowing that she is having success coming from off the beaten path. 

He spends his time with his family, and caring for his many plants, shrimp, and his Pufferfish, Puff! A fun fact about Mr. Mechem is that he has read 100 books in just one year! He can confirm his favorite book to date is, 3 Body Problem by Cixin Liu.

In the future Mr. Mechem hopes to travel and see more of Canada, and maybe even make it to Asia and Europe. But in the meantime he is here to stay! So make sure to say hi!