Hi everybody,
That’s where you say, “Hi, Dr. Nick!” Sorry, bad Simpsons reference, I’m such a nerd.
I’m originally from Menomonee Falls and went up to Madison to earn degrees in History and Economics. Obviously I came back to school to earn a teaching license. If/when I become a teacher I’d like to teach history at any level, although I can teach economics if the school asks me to.
Growing up my parents always told me that I should either become a teacher or a lawyer because I loved teaching people about things and could always rationalize my way out of trouble. I chose the one that is generally less despised. My passion for teaching started at a young age. I first held “class” when I was 5 years old on a family fishing trip. I gathered all of my uncles outside and proceeded to teach them about dinosaurs; again, huge nerd.
In school, I had a lot of teachers whom I enjoyed. The two that stand out the most were Mrs. Novack (History) and Mr. Chavannes (Economics), weird coincidence being in my subject field, I know. Mrs. Novack was a more straight forward teacher, with lectures, tests, and presentations. However, her knowledge of history seemed limitless. She could come up with historical facts about everything and anything on a dime. Mr. Chavannes, on the other hand, was a more out of the box teacher. He made learning economics fun, yes that is possible, with activities and demonstrations that were unorthodox. To his greatest credit, he did not drone on like Ben Stein either.
My love for history comes from two places. The first is my own family’s multiple ties to history. I’m a direct descendant of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President. I also have an ancestor who played a big role in the American Revolution, at least the hill he owned did. The Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed’s Hill, my ancestor’s hill. I went there a couple of years ago and told the guards that they owed my family some back rent but they barely changed the expressions on their faces. They clearly don’t have a sense of humor.
The second reason why I love history comes from the fact history is full of funny stories and dumb luck. For instance, at one point in the Catholic Church’s history they had three excommunicated Popes at the same time. There was also trial by cake at one point in England. However, my favorite story is of King Alexander I of Greece. Alexander led the Greek forces against the Turks in the Greco-Turkish War, right after World War I. He led the Greeks to an almost certain victory in the war until he went walking in his garden and was bitten by a monkey and died. That left the Greeks in the hands of an incompetent leader who would go on to lose the war. So basically a little monkey won a war for the Turks; that is how amazing history can be. On a side note, I’m great at trivia games because I have a mind full of useless facts, just and FYI.
I do have other interests outside of history. I enjoy watching baseball games and love the statistical side of baseball as well. There goes my nerdy side again. I am also heavily involved in the Irish culture in Milwaukee. I have worked at Irish Fest and the Irish Fest Summer School every year since I was nine years old. Another side note, if anyone wants free tickets to Irish Fest let me know. I also worked as a tour guide at the Capitol building in Madison for three years. If you’d like a private tour, again let me know. Before you ask though, I probably won’t be able to get you up to the top of the dome; that is up to the Capitol Police.
That’s only just a little bit about me.