Mr. Welch, an English and Journalism teacher, with many out of the box hobbies, shows who he is inside and out of the classroom.

Welch isn’t the most conventional teacher. In his classes, it is normal to interrupt a lesson plan to discuss what’s going on in the world. Not only that, but he encourages his students to share their constant thoughts while fostering a welcoming class environment for them to do so. “Nobody learns better when they are upset or they’re stressed or they are thinking about something else,” Welch noted. Welch’s constant care for students and their mental wellbeing makes him very popular among the student body. 

While some people take a strong liking to high school and consider it a part of their prime years, that was not exactly the case for Welch. “High school was fine, I didn’t love high school. I had some good teachers, I had some bad teachers,” Welch said. Even though he was apathetic towards school, Welch’s participation on the swim team made it more bearable. 

 After high school, he attended William and Mary for undergrad, primarily because of the smaller size of the school, and American University for his graduate degree. When he entered college, Welch had his heart set on being a physics major. Turns out, college physics is a lot more difficult than one might think. Welch soon realized that he was much more drawn to English and history, and ultimately decided that was what he wanted to focus on. 

Teaching was always in the back of Welch’s mind as a potential career option, but his path to becoming a teacher actually began as a bartender in his college years. After college, Welch continued working in the restaurant industry, working his way up to a managing position. The job was mentally exhausting and he realized he needed a change of pace, but there was a certain aspect he had come to enjoy; coaching and mentoring. He wanted a job that not only included those elements but was also more sustainable and gratifying, which brought him to pursue a teaching degree.

Since Welch’s grad school was down the street from Jackson-Reed, he became interested in the school. He initially got an interview at a DCPS job fair and became excited about the prospect when he learned that current Jackson-Reed humanities teachers Matthew Burgoyne and Amanda Chang, two members of his graduating class as AU, would be teaching at Jackson-Reed as well.

When he is not hopelessly grading papers, Welch has a variety of hobbies- music, reading, and camping, to name a few. In high school, he explored the punk rock music scene, seeing concerts and playing guitar whenever possible. Welch and his wife are “crazy Kesha fans.” Her last two albums have apparently brightened his life more than words can explain. So if you have an extra ticket, you know who to give it to. As you might expect from an English teacher, Welch loves to read. He often seeks out books that have some historical aspects to satisfy his mutual appreciation of history and literature. 

 He also swims and has an ongoing joke that he will pick back up skateboarding soon. His excuse for not already participating in this activity (that everyone would love to see him fail at) is due to the renaissance fair calling his name a little bit too frequently. Apparently it is the best people watching, and he can be a giant weirdo, his true nature. Who knows, maybe Welch will quit teaching and become a permanent medieval nobleman instead.•