“I like pushing myself to the limit, I always need a challenge in front of me.  Ifthere is no challenge to be met, then I’m not striving to be better,” this is the philosophy by which chemistry teacher, Ryan Trott lives his life in and out of the classroom.

Trott is a man of many hats, but chemistry has stuck with him all the way through. His passion for chemistry started from one of his high school science teachers. He took on different jobs before becoming a chemistry teacher. He was a handyman, ski lift operator, a tutor, and even tried out medical school for half a year. At that time, all Trott knew was that he wanted to be interacting with people and somehow combine it. His next experience didn’t exactly match up, but did shape him into the person he is today.

Before Trott became a chemistry teacher, he took on many adventures. His experiences always involved pushing himself to the limit, both physically andintellectually. One of his most memorable experiences, and also his first time teaching experience, was traveling to Ukraine with a mission group, to teach English.

“I didn’t know Ukrainian at all. I was teaching students English by just speaking, while the students would imitate me and copy my accent. The country was completely foreign to me, I had a hard time understanding everything. I couldn’t even read the signs on the street or knew what any of the food was. It was an experience that challenged and pushed my ability to the fullest. The whole experience nucleated the idea that I wanted to teach,” said Trott.

Trott is also a triathlete. He is involved in the running group, Raider Runners, and also participates in triathlons. Trott adopted a healthy lifestyle when he attended medical school.

In the classroom, Trott is animated and accessible to his students and is an attentive and supportive teacher. Chemistry is a tough subject for most students, and Trott seeks to simplify it and make it accessible. He strongly believes that practice and group work are necessities for students to understand material.

“When I was a student, practice was the key to studying. I also learned that working together with other people on problems really helped me understand what I was doing. I try to implement these mechanisms everyday to the students,” said Trott.

There is no intimidation in Trott’s classroom, questions are asked freely and answered constructively.

“The hardest thing about being a teacher is that there is no room for slacking off. When you are a student you are able to slack off, but you blame yourself. As a teacher you have students depending on you. Everyday I try my best to be on point and the best I can be to give the students all the resources and help they need to learn,” said Trott.