After graduating from University School in 2010, Mr. Brian Hess has returned and now teaches English for his old high school. His life has literally (with a ‘t’) come full circle. Mr. Hess entered US as a freshman and after four years of being a student here, he enrolled into Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and earned an English major; he was also a right fielder position on their baseball team. In his English major, Mr. Hess concentrated on creative writing and wrote for and ran the student literary magazine. He also served as a sports editor for the Kenyon school newspaper, the Kenyon Collegian. During his Junior year, Mr. Hess studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland, in which he claims “there is no greener place on Earth.”

His first stop as a teacher happened to be in an all-boys school as well, The Ginn Academy in Cleveland, an experience which he described it as eye-opening.  Mr. Hess most recently taught ninth grade integrated humanities at a co-educational school in Northern Indiana. Earlier this year, however, Mr. Hess heard about a job opening for the English department in University School. The rest is history. Since coming back to US, Mr. Hess considered the newly added Academic Wing to be the most impressive physical change to the school. Just to give a sense at how new this Academic Wing is, construction had not even begun when Mr. Hess was a student. Although the new Academic Wing provides all the resources needed for a successful school day, Mr. Hess stated a part of him can’t help but miss the old, dilapidated, dungeon-style classrooms and recounts his memories of “Mr. Aliazzi yelling about Luther’s 95 Theses in a windowless room.” As American Businessman Joseph Wirthlin once said, “Sometimes memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming!”

Beyond the new luxurious faculty and student accommodations built since his graduation, Mr. Hess also mentioned the changes he faced now being the teacher instead of the student. Although he has had other teaching jobs before this, there was something about coming back to a place you love to teach there that gave him a “nervously excited” feeling. He wanted to give back to US because US was so uniquely amazing: “Aside from sharing the same birthday (December 30th, for those who are wondering) and similar athletic prowess with LeBron James, I suppose you could say we have one more thing in common: we both just want to make our homes great.”

Obviously being a teacher, one has to evaluate his students. Mr. Hess said that all his students were bright and fun, and that throughout his four classes no class has the same discussions, that’s how diverse the opinions of his students are. “I couldn’t ask for a better start to my first year!”

When asked what was the best thing that ever happened to him, Mr. Hess responded with a number of things. For example: his dog, his niece being born, being downtown for the Cavs championship win, his friends and family, his first baseball glove, etc. To narrow it down, Mr. Hess said that the best thing that has ever happened to him was when his sister introduced him to US. Mr. Hess grew up in Orange, and his sister performed for the US spring and fall plays. When he was in eighth grade, his parents started visiting other schools.  His sister recommended US and low and behold, Mr. Hess enrolled. If it weren’t for his sister, Mr. Hess would have never known about this school, thus never would have thought to come back and teach here.

Quick Facts:

1. Favorite Sport(s): Baseball and basketball
2. Favorite Team(s): Cavs, Indians, Ohio State Buckeyes (Browns are just too depressing)
3. Favorite Books and Movies: Book (it’s a tie): East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz. Movie: Big Fish
4. Favorite Food and Place to Eat: ice cream, specifically moose tracks. Yours Truly and Hunan by the Falls.
5. Favorite Hobby: reading, watching/seeing movies, catching a sports game, hiking