By Cameron M. Bray ’16
THE ROUNDUP
Before coming to Brophy in 2006, Dr. Sam Ewing worked as an assistant professor at Elmira College where he never pictured himself teaching at high school.
According to him, it was “just serendipity” and “just luck” that brought him to Brophy.
“My experience prior to this had been totally at college,” Dr. Ewing said. “And I never thought I would teach at a high school; it was never my intention, never my goal.”
Dr. Ewing currently teaches four different classes: AP European History, AP U.S. History, AP Comparative Government and Politics, and U.S. History.
Though the workload can be demanding, students say they enjoy Dr. Ewing’s classes.
“It’s a great class,” said Miles Bimrose ’16 of AP European History. “A lot of notes, but you learn a lot. They’re pretty time consuming … probably 30 minutes to an hour a night.”
Like many teachers before him, Dr. Ewing said he enjoys teaching, especially the student-teacher interactions.
“I’ve enjoyed teaching at Brophy,” Dr. Ewing said. “I love the interaction with students. I think … the quality of our learning here and of our conversations … really approaches the quality of a college level class.”
Besides teaching classes, Dr. Ewing serves as department chair for Social Studies.
Social Studies teacher Mr. Matt Williams ’07 said that Dr. Ewing is not only a good department chair, but also a good friend.
“He’s a very intelligent guy. He’s also a very compassionate man. He’s been a mentor and a friend to me, and I’m lucky to be in his department,” Mr. Williams said.
Dr. Ewing also moderates the Republican Club, which meets every Tuesday in his room, B209, at lunch.
He said that he also moderated the bygone Libertarian Club and that he would moderate any political club.
“I’ve always told people I would help out with any political club,” Dr. Ewing said. “No matter what the affiliation.”
Dr. Ewing also said he believes in the importance of communication.
“Giving people a forum to talk is one of the most important things you can do in society (in order) to help diffuse tensions and avoid wars,” Dr. Ewing said.
Other than clubs, Dr. Ewing said that recommendations are what keep him busy.
“First semester there’s a lot of recommendations for college that come due and a fair amount of administrative paperwork,” Dr. Ewing said. “Recommendations are a big, big chunk of time.”
Grading also keeps Dr. Ewing busy.
“By the end of the semester it can be kind of overwhelming,” Dr. Ewing said. “But somehow I always find a way to get it graded.”
When he is not grading or writing recommendations, Dr. Ewing said he likes hiking near South Mountain and that he has a couple of dogs that he brings with him.
Dr. Ewing said he enjoys physical exercise as well as teaching.
“When you have a job like being a teacher and it tends to be more cerebral,” Dr. Ewing said. “It’s quite often good to balance that with something physical.”
