When you type the name of new Spanish teacher Christopher Lupoli into a Google search browser, one of the first images that pop up is a man with red Aztec printing across his cheeks, standing in what looks like a rainforest. This man is the teacher who replaced former Spanish teacher Bethanie Kermode last spring after she resigned to spend more time with her newborn child.
“He’s really intelligent and knows a lot more than just the material he needs to teach; he is also really into teaching about South and Central America, which was really cool,” said senior Logan Mcneil, a former student of Lupoli.
Lupoli is one of the most recent additions to the Northwood teaching staff. When he came into the position, he did not exactly know what to expect.
“I just kind of fell into the position,” Lupoli said.
Although Lupoli doesn’t share the same educational background as other teachers at Northwood, he does have life experience in multiple other areas.
“I’ve done a lot of international work, coordinated a study abroad program, was in the Peace Corps in Panama, worked on an organic coffee farm in Nicaragua and have been in some graduate programs before,” Lupoli said, “I kind of jumped around in life and did a lot of different things.”
Lupoli says that his motivations for teaching came from his life experiences.
“Some of the things I’ve done in life really showed me the impact that I can have on students’ lives,” Lupoli said, “I’ve also always had a passion for teaching and working with students.”
– By Jessica Kolomichuk