Change can be hard – especially for a teacher moving to a new campus in a new town. For English teacher Richard Chenvert, this is something he knows all too well. 

He recently made the transition from teaching at a middle school in Louisiana to teaching English I and II at LCM because teaching in high school has been his goal since he started in education.

“I chose LCM because I witnessed the greatness and learned about the atmosphere of teaching from my best friend who also teaches here, Mrs. Tarver,” Chenvert said.

So far, Chenvert said he has learned to adapt to a new school and new people. He has already stepped up to help sponsor the National Honor Society and is heavily involved in other aspects of the campus.

“I feel like I am adjusting well,” Chenvert said. “The English department is extremely helpful and made the transition a lot easier. But one thing I am still adjusting to would have to be the 7:15 school start time.” 

According to Chenvert, the biggest differences between teaching middle school and high school are the pace of instruction and the amount of class periods.

“Also, I love not having to eat lunch with my students every day,” he said.

Chenvert said he likes to maintain a positive attitude and reminds himself often that everyone has bad days, and hopefully he can help change people’s attitudes. 

‘’I encourage positivity and creativity by giving students room to mess up and explore themselves through their writing projects,” he said. 

As a teenager, Chenvert said he pictured himself as a teacher, so it is no surprise that he ended up in the education field. 

‘’I am almost where I thought I would end up,” Chenvert said. “In high school I wanted to be a Geometry teacher. So, I have the teacher part right except I teach English.’’ 

When he was a student himself, Chenvert said he had teachers that inspired him to want to become an educator. They were able to push him to his full potential. 

‘’I hope as a teacher, students will take the life lesson away from me to never give up,” Chenvert said. “It’s not how you get there, just as long as you make it.”