Joshua Yamamoto is a science teacher here at District 219. He studied at Augustana College and was involved in the track and field program there. He is also one of the coaches for the Niles North Girls Track and Field team.

Yamamoto made his move to work at District 219 because of his passion for teaching. When asked why he came to Skokie to teach he said, “I knew the school prior to coming here… I just went in to interview and got accustomed to everyone and the students, and one word to describe the school was diverse and how great it was to be at school filled with a lot of people from different backgrounds.”

While he studied in Augustana college he also participated in the school’s track and field team. His passion for track and field grew in high school and continued through college.

“I started out when I was young, just seeing the olympics on television and seeing the variety of different athletes achieve their dreams and pursuing what seems to be the impossible and it inspired me to do the same.”

While he still teaches he is currently working at qualifying for the 2020 Olympic trials. To Yamamoto, time management is everything especially being a teacher, coach, and athlete.

“It keeps me busy for sure, I normally just try to get something in after school or coaching, go to my training which takes about 2-3 hours a day on top of everything,” Yamamoto said.

He has had this goal of going to the Olympics since he was a child when he watched it on TV but now that dream has become a reality.

He had success in high school but in college is when he really grew as an athlete.

“I achieved some success in high school but it really sprouted in college and then just after college I decided that maybe I could take this to the next level.”

If you want to know more about Yamamoto contact him at [email protected].