On November 3rd, twenty-one years ago, a teacher walked into a classroom for the first time hoping to make a difference. This teacher was Robert Geremia, who still graces our classrooms today. Mean, tyrant, serious: these are only some of the words Geremia thinks his students use to describe him. In reality, we learned he has a very complex history. 

It seems evident that Mr. Geremia became a teacher because, growing up in a family of educators, he just followed the footsteps of everyone around him, but this was not the case. He claims he was motivated to replicate his wonderful teachers and driven by a desire to be better than some of his more mediocre teachers. While  he also considered going into medicine, he always knew he would end up in front of a classroom teaching history to students.

Following his graduation from Rhode Island College, Geremia moved to DC for job opportunities. Rhode Island is extremely small, with only about 39 towns, and Rhode Island College produces more social studies teachers than there are positions to fill, so Geremia would’ve had to work as a substitute teacher for four or five years before finally landing the coveted permanent position. At the time, places like DC and New York City experienced teacher shortages, and Geremia saw an opportunity and took it. 

He told us that he has been living in DC for almost as long as he lived in Rhode Island, and when we asked him how he felt about this he had conflicting thoughts. He told us that ever since the pandemic he has felt a “longing” for Rhode Island, but that he has ties here, a community that he is reluctant to leave. He says that his family, and his childhood in Rhode Island is something that he always wants to remember, and that when he finishes teaching he would like to split his time between the only places that he has ever called home.

During a long weekend in October, Geremia returned to Rhode Island to attend a wedding, and while there returned to Rhode Island College to visit an impactful professor, Dr. Schuster. She taught a course about historical inquiry in which Geremia had to write a paper, and he chose to write about LGBTQ history in Rhode Island, a topic he said he is still fascinated by to this day. When he returned he didn’t expect her to remember him, but she did, and thanked him for coming back. While he was there she told him about the new Queer Studies Minor at the college. Geremia thought this was a full-circle moment because it felt like something they had started together years ago when researching his paper.

Prior to teaching at Jackson-Reed, Geremia taught at feeder Alice Deal Middle School. He originally taught US history when Deal was a junior high school serving 7th and 8th grade students. He even taught math teacher and crew coach Chris Rickard in 7th grade. When Deal transitioned to a full middle school, he was moved to teaching 6th grade because he was “just so welcoming.” Needless to say, he did not enjoy this, and asked to be transferred back. When his request was denied, Geremia took his current position teaching APUSH at Jackson-Reed.

Geremia told us one of his favorite things to do was travel. He has been to Spain, Greece, India, Vietnam, Scotland, and his personal favorite, Italy. He said that Italy holds a deep connection to his family’s past.

 About 150 years ago, his great-grandfather moved to the United States and never looked back. Geremia felt a desire to know more about this mysterious man who had such an impact on his life, but that he knows so little about. Over this past summer, he went to the town his family was from and found records of his ancestors dating back to the early 1800s. He even got to meet some extended family that he didn’t know existed. Because of this experience, he feels comfortable traveling in Italy, and he has helped with the Italian exchange program for years, and will continue to see it through this year, which will be its final.

Lastly, Geremia hopes that his students feel he is doing his best to prepare them for whatever venture and path they take in life. He encourages all of his students to come back and visit after they graduate, and tell him what they’re up to. We asked him for some final words, to which he responded, “I think I’ve given you too much.”