What is your name and department? My name is Nevin Van Roeyen; I’m in the math department at Niles North.
How long have you taught at Niles North? This is my 27th year here.
What has been your favorite part about teaching? Probably learning from my colleagues and working with kids. There’s never a boring day. S,o I think learning from everybody. I’ve learned from other teachers, I’ve learned from students, and I’ve learned from support staff. So, I just continue to learn from others and then try to better myself based on what I’ve learned.
Why did you want to become a teacher? I had a teacher at Golf Junior High, and I had her for both seventh and eighth grade. Her name was Miss Yant, and I had her for pre-algebra and algebra, and she just opened up my world to math. And, I thought about math and kids, and it just seemed like a natural fit.
What has been your proudest moment while teaching? Wow, that’s a really tough one. My proudest moment? I don’t have just one, but one of the things that I pride myself on is looking at the growth of a student from the beginning to the end of the year. And, growth in a student, not only mathematically, but also in terms of trying to build a relationship with them, and just trying to create an environment where anybody can learn math.
Is there anyone specific whom you’d like to shout-out for making your time here better? So many people, but if I have to give one shout-out, it would be to the math department, because they continue to push me to go beyond my own boundaries. And two people in particular—Miss Serrano and Miss Taxakis—have played a big role in my life, along with Miss Goldman and so many others. Mr. Murphy is my walking partner this year. So, I just think I should shout out to the whole math department, both people that have retired before me and those that are still teachers.
What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring teachers? Be real to the students, because they can spot fakeness from a mile away.
What are your plans for the future? So, I have a house in Florida, and I have two daughters—one lives in Florida, and one lives here—and I’ll be spending my time going back and forth and, of course, some traveling. But I don’t know; I’m just not sure what the next chapter will bring. Maybe I’ll do some work; maybe I’ll work in an field that I never even knew I could do. I like adventure, so I’m open to so many things.
Are there any specific hobbies that you’re looking forward to pursuing? I like to craft. I like to kayak. I’ll be moving to Florida for a big portion of the year, so I like all water activities, walking, swimming, and hiking. I like the outdoors. I would like to learn how to play golf, because I don’t think I can live in Florida without knowing how to play golf. I am a recent pickleball learner, so I’ve got to work on that. Mr. Martin is moving down to Florida after his retirement, and he doesn’t live too far from me there. He’s really good at pickleball, so I need to work on that before he moves down there.
Is there anything else that you’d like to include that I didn’t mention? I just want to thank District 219 for giving me a job so that I could, you know, carry the health insurance and put my kids through college. We forget about that sometimes, and those 27 years here made me able to do what I need to do for my family. So, thank you.
