Dr. Collins is a teacher who specializes in history classes here at Tahoma. He teaches Military History, Washington State History, and even Intro to Psychology. He is known for teaching in a way that is exciting and fun, as well as educational. By implementing lots of hands-on activities in his curriculum, he keeps students engaged and creates a positive learning environment every day. However, most people have never heard the amazing backstory he has to share. What about his past careers? What even got him into teaching? And what does he do during his time off? Find out all of this, and more, now.
Believe it or not, Dr. Collins originally had no interest in teaching in the slightest. He had a lot of careers when he was younger, and growing up, he looked for work in any form he could. Collins explained that he worked “…a lot. I grew up in Wenatchee and I was a shipper for a clothing factory called Pacific Trail. I also did restaurant work, and all kinds of agriculture work. My favorite previous job was to ship out all the completed clothes at the factory, mainly winter jackets.” Upon doing all of these jobs, he never even thought about becoming a teacher until he was in college.
When Collins was in college, his first thoughts of teaching began to form. He went on to say that he “…had a professor at Wenatchee Valley college who told me I would be a good teacher. I hadn’t even thought about being a teacher before that. Something just kinda clicked in my head, and I decided to pursue it.” After that moment, Collins decided to pursue education and found lots of love in it. Particularly due to his love of people and socializing, Collins found himself falling in love with education as he discovered more about it.
Collins eventually went on to become the man we all know and love today, and he really enjoys teaching. He said that his favorite parts of teaching are “Just talking to kids all day, and teachers, honestly everybody. I love the environment and being around people. Otherwise I’m just at home hanging out, and that’s a lot more boring.” By finding enjoyment in a career he discovered joy in pursuing, he ended up creating the positive environment we all know we can find in his classroom.
A Teacher Assistant of Collins helped convey the joy that he experiences every day when he gets to help out with important tasks. Cole Woodard, a 4th period TA for Collins, said that “I like being a Teacher Assistant for Dr. Collins because it is always such a positive environment, and he keeps me busy with projects that not only help him and his classes, but the entire school.” Woodard helps to show just how big of an impact Collins’ teaching style and attitude can have on anyone, and how just interacting with Collins for a little while can brighten your entire day.
Outside of school, Collins is just as interesting as he is inside of it. He has a variety of unique hobbies, and says that “Writing history has always been a favorite of mine, as well as watching football, basketball and baseball. I also like playing with my grandson and visiting with my wife and kids as well.” Inside of school and out, Collins truly has such a great story to tell, and many lessons to teach. You wouldn’t think a teacher could be such an interesting person overall, but Collins has such a story to tell.
