By: Lauren Mitchell, Co-Editor-in-Chief
The new computer science and career development teacher, Mr. Janelli, has an extremely interesting story that cannot go unnoticed. His experience into teaching is unlike something that River Hill has seen before, obtaining a unique life journey that allows him to stand out from the crowd.
Mr. Janelli has been knocked down before but has never failed to get back up and continue living his passion. He is a strong advocate for students that have high stressors outside of school as he can relate to this. When asked about his high school experience, Mr. Janelli says “I had a rough time in high school, my mother passed away during my sophomore summer and I was very close to her. My last two years of high school were not a great time, I did not do well and I barely graduated.”
After earning his degree, Mr. Janelli decided to continue doing what he thrived in instead of wasting resources. He “was smart enough to know that I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I wasn’t in a great space, I didn’t want to waste my time or my father’s money.” So, interestingly enough, Mr. Janelli pursued his culinary passion. Mr. Janelli “was already working in restaurants, so I continued to do that. Over the years, I progressed in about every role in a restaurant accept owning one, I was ultimately a chef in a few restaurants.”
Most students see their teachers occupation as being a teacher, not imagining them in other professions. In my 5th-period computer science class, we were intrigued to learn about Mr. Janelli’s former job. Senior Kristina Bernas states that “I was shocked to learn that he had previously been a chef and I wondered how he learned so much about computer science and how he got into the teaching field. He is a really great teacher and I’ve learned a lot of new and useful information about computer science this year.”
Not only was Mr. Janelli a chef, but he dabbled in countless other fields. “I was always someone who wanted to stay busy constantly, so I usually had two maybe three jobs. I was always in a restaurant but I was a lot of other things, I was an electrician’s apprentice, I worked in a garage fixing cars, I drove a limousine, I painted houses, I worked as a bartender, I managed a live blues club for a while”
After gaining experience working with special education students and teachers, he realized he had a passion for teaching a wanted to help students. Mr. Janelli loves to teach high schoolers because “It is an awesome time to get this age group to look at the world and ask questions.” The transition from cooking to computer science is different, but after learning more about math and science in college, Mr. Janelli grew to love it. He says that “Computer science is great for me because I love the computer, I love teaching people how to use them, and I love the possibilities that are there in the industry”
Mr. Janelli got into a major car accident halfway into the first quarter at River Hill, forcing him to take a decent amount of time off. This was challenging for him as well as the students, but Mr. Janelli got right back into the swing of things and is continuing to teach his students efficiently.
When asked about his transition into River Hill, he says that it has been “smooth, the staff here are great and extremely dedicated, every single person that I meet I am impressed with. I feel right at home.”