First Generation Teacher

  

          From big city to little town, Patrick Shal grew up in both worlds. Shal was born in Oak Park, Ill, a suburb of Chicago but moved to the small town of Cammack, Ind., when he was nine. The oldest of three children, Shal would spend the next 14 years of his life attending school and teaching.

            Shal decision to become a teacher was made when he was in high school, although he did not become a teacher right away. Shal worked in other areas such as human services,  restaurant business and banking. Shal was laid off when he was working for US Bancorp where he was a business analyst and that’s when he decided it was time to head back to school and become a teacher. Shal was asked why he became a teacher he said, “Because my years in high school were so favorable, I wanted to make students feel the way I did when it came to school.” Shal is not the only teacher in the family, both his younger sisters teach. His sister Julia, now retired, was a high school math teacher in Ind., while his sister Jenny teaches kindergarten in Geo. He did not come from a family of teachers; in fact  Shal  said his parents never graduated high school. So Shal and his sisters are first generation teachers.  Shal did his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, he stayed in Indiana for a little while teaching English at Bishop Noll Institute. From there he decided to move to Minnesota and do graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  Here Shal completed his Masters in English.

            When asked what he enjoys about teaching Shal said, “My interaction with the students and my ability to see them grow intellectually. Being a teacher has allowed for me to meet all kinds of people and I have created many friendships.” Shal teaches both online and in the classroom at Anoka Ramsey Community College. He enjoys teaching face to face rather than online because he gets to know the students better. Although he understands not everyone can experience the classroom because of their busy schedules he tries to make his online classes as informative and personal like he would if he were teaching in the classroom.

            When not teaching and has extra time, Shal enjoys playing the clarinet. He also has a guitar that he doesn’t get to use much because he lacks time for practice. In addition to his musical interest Shal likes to collect modern first editions from authors he enjoys. Even though his work does not get published much Shal enjoys writing poetry as well.