Profe Sjoberg Reflects On His Time at Lakeside

We all know Profe Sjoberg, the teacher with an outsized personality, a love of cringy memes, and an odd ability to flap his hands and make noise. (If you’ve seen him do it, you know what I’m talking about.) And some people just know him because they almost accidentally emailed him instead of his brother! In any case, our beloved Spanish teacher has finally graduated from the middle school after eleven years and is expected to make an appearance in Spain soon; but before he leaves Lakeside, we at the Leo wanted to give him a proper send-off.

Profe’s teaching career began at an unlikely place: the pool. At sixteen years old, he got his first job lifeguarding and teaching kids to swim. He realized that he enjoyed working with young people, and this interest was compounded by “a distinct memory in high school of really enjoying Spanish class, largely because my teacher was really fun.” However, entering college, he didn’t really know what he was going to major in; he simply signed up for classes that interested him. Once again, he gravitated towards Spanish classes, eventually going on to study abroad in Ecuador and get a master’s degree in the language.

As we all know, Profe ended up teaching Spanish at Lakeside. When asked why he stuck around for eleven long years, he replied that the community, both students and colleagues, has been one of the biggest reasons he loves working at Lakeside. He explained that “I’ve learned a lot and I’ve laughed a lot -- that’s what made my experience here so incredible.” As anyone who has had a class with Profe will know, that interaction goes both ways. We’ve all also laughed a lot and learned a lot in his classroom; he has really managed to achieve what he strives for in his lessons: “balancing fun and rigor.” 

Additionally, he’s also found his job quite rewarding: he loves seeing the growth in his students long after they leave his class. Recently, he said, “I did a GSL trip to Puerto Rico, and seeing some of the high-school students who had been my students translating for others who hadn’t taken Spanish, I was really impressed.” 

I also asked Profe to impart to us students some wise words of wisdom from his many, many years. (Just kidding, Profe! Please don’t mark me down on our next test because I called you old!) He told me that he encourages us to “try as many things as you can.” He said that while he himself has had preconceived notions about certain activities, when he actually tried them, he ended up learning a lot. Additionally, he mentioned, if possible, live or study abroad: “You’ll learn a lot about the culture, the language, the country, and yourself. It's a challenging but extremely rewarding experience.”

So where might we find Profe next? Professionally, he says he’s not really sure yet, mentioning that he wants to just try something different for a while “because I value learning and growth.” I’m sure we’re all also wondering if he’ll ever teach again, and to that end, he mentioned that “one of the reasons I’m making this difficult decision is because I know I can always come back to teaching.”  

In the meantime, while he’s figuring out what new jobs he might like to try, he told me, “I’m gonna take some time off and travel.” This summer, we can find him in Spain, first for a wedding and then visiting friends. Afterwards, he’s moving back to Seattle to do some “hiking and things.” While his plan was to bike across the country, he said that his dog wasn’t really up to it yet, so the duo decided to take a road trip instead. Excited for these new adventures before he goes back to work, Profe says, “[I think] it’s important to take time to relax and enjoy life and slow down…”

Thank you, Profe, for all your contributions to Lakeside! We’ll miss your sense of humor and liveliness greatly, and I’m sure in return you are also going to miss telling people to put their shoes on when you’re on lunch duty. (That was a joke! During our interview, he actually did have to tell someone to put their shoes on…) Buena suerte in all of your future endeavors, and por favor, send us photos of you and your dog on your trip!