Student teachers at BSM are few and far between: however, second semester brings an exception. The BSM history department has welcomed student teacher André Wangard this semester, giving him the opportunity to see and experience everything being an educator brings.

Wangard explored and pursued many different opportunities before his teaching career. Before college, Wangard played soccer for the National U20 Nicaragua team, followed by a year of college soccer at the University of Louisville.

Despite soccer being a big part of Wangard’s life and identity, he finds himself equally enthralled by the idea of teaching, thanks to a positive educational upbringing. “I would say because I love history a lot and also had really great teachers growing up, that really inspired me to make a change for lives other than my own,” Wangard said.

To pursue both his passions for teaching and history, Wangard transferred to the University of St. Thomas. “So I’m a double major in secondary education and social studies, and I can do grades five through 12,” Wangard said.

Becoming an educator is no easy task, so getting the chance to shadow and work with the BSM history department, specifically with Ken Pauly and Cherie Vroman, has given Wangard critical firsthand experience. “Currently, my day consists of either observation, co-teaching, or full teaching. Right now I am trying to get to know the students, the school community, and trying to master the subjects that I am teaching and the best way of teaching them,” Wangard said.

Getting an in-person teaching opportunity at BSM has presented Wangard with the challenges of being a teacher, and has allowed him to figure out solutions to those challenges. “I think being a student-teacher has presented the real-life challenges that I am now learning to maneuver when it comes to teaching. This can be anything from trying to figure out the best ways to get students engaged, finding the best way to present and teach information, or just trying to balance both teaching and life outside of it,” Wangard said.

As for the future, next year, Wangard will be doing one of three Graduate school programs (PACE at University of Portland, MAGIS at Creighton University, or UCTC at Boston College) where he will be teaching in a Catholic school for two years and will then earn his Masters’ degree. Once all said and done, Wangard hopes to land a teaching job comparable to his student teaching experience at BSM. “BSM is a great place to teach it and I would love to teach at BSM or a similar school,” Wangard said.

For now, Wangard enjoys writing Catholic-based articles on the side, and just had one published for a major Catholic news company out of New York, New York. Check it out!