New Teacher: Nathan Schlepp, Theology

This year, BSM kindly welcomes new theology teacher Mr. Nathan Schlepp. With 15 years of teaching experience already, Mr. Schlepp is passionate about theology and excited to channel that passion toward educating the students of BSM.

Schlepp previously taught at Holy Family Catholic High School after studying theology for many years. When asked to elaborate on what encouraged him to pursue a career in theology education, he said that he didn’t always intend on becoming a teacher but was very much inspired by an admiration for a previous philosophy teacher of his. “I didn’t start off wanting to be a teacher. It’s something that I ended up falling into after acquiring a love for philosophy and theology,” Schlepp said.

To rouse engagement in his classroom, Schlepp tries to stray from merely teaching specific answers about God and instead focuses on open ended questions designed to inspire discussion. “I think [that] the best moments are when students actually engage with a text or an idea that they’d maybe never heard of before. You see lightbulb moments, that’s the most fun,” Schlepp said.

When asked about his favorite part of teaching theology, Schlepp indicated that he most enjoys seeing his students apply it to their individual lives and the discussions that stem from it. “Sometimes when you teach theology with just specific answers about God, students can get a little bored by it. I tend to think that God is really all encompassing, and that can lead us to talk about anything that happens in our lives,” Schlepp said.

Aside from being excited, Schlepp is optimistic about what is to come as he teaches at BSM. When asked if he believes that he has what it takes to create a positive learning atmosphere in his classroom and throughout the BSM theology department as a whole, he said, “I would never phrase [that] I am one person who’s going to create a positive atmosphere for a whole bunch of people, but what I will do on a daily basis is try to teach as much wisdom as possible to every student that comes my way. I am very happy that I get to teach philosophy, world religions, morality and ethics. Those are [the] things that I’ve always loved teaching and so I’m very happy to be able to teach you here,” Schlepp said.