The Blue and White got the opportunity to interview Mr. Fairchild, a biomedical teacher at Apopka High.

What are some of your hobbies? 

Shameless plug for Jarrarium Club! I breed a few species of freshwater and brackish shrimp. We use them in some of our Jarrarium Club jars.

I also go fossil hunting! Did you know that Florida is one of the best places in the world to find fossils? I’ve found a partial megalodon tooth, a horse tooth, manatee rib bones, and an alligator tooth. The goal is to find a mammoth tusk… If you see a Honda Civic with a tusk sticking out the window, you know I’ve achieved my dream.

Tell me about your path of becoming a teacher.

I worked in the medical industry before becoming a teacher. Specifically, I worked in compliance at an infectious disease office that operated in South Lake Hospital and Health Central Hospital (now Orlando Health). I also got a lot of patient and physician contact by covering the front desk of the office and working with the office manager to run the business. While the industry was interesting and led to professional and personal growth, there were aspects I did not care for. For example, when you work in compliance, no one is happy to see you because it usually means that you’re going to inspect them or tell them they are doing something wrong. I am extroverted, and I didn’t enjoy having to have those interactions on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, I had a family member retire, get sick, and pass away.

I knew then that I wanted to do something better for myself and my community so did some introspection about who I am and what I wanted out of life. I knew I loved social interaction, structure, and science. I then researched careers that would cater towards that. I met with an OCPS recruiter, and she jokingly said I would be locked in a room with 25 people, and we would discuss the coolest things in the world. To me that sounded like the best job ever and it absolutely is. My students are awesome, and helping them learn and grow as people is my passion. I love teaching, and I want to continue to do it for the rest of my career.

What do you wish more people knew about you?

I have a few! When I speak, I hear my voice with a lot of inflection and different tones, but when I hear recordings of myself, I am shocked to hear how monotone it is (I’m working on it). I am taller than Mrs. Connor, but I slouch. My students are lying to you; I am an S tier singer. I know I have the best hair. I still believe Tom Brady will come back and win it all.

My proudest accomplishment is receiving the first Teacher of the Month Award from Mr. Heinz in November 2022. My students can tell you I wore that plaque around my neck for the whole month lest anyone forgot who the winner was.

Close second is receiving the Jordans from our football team. Go Darters!

I would go back and talk to my younger self about important developments of the future. The usual time travel stuff… buy cryptocurrency, love your grandparents, and don’t install League of Legends.

Who or what would you say has had the greatest influence/impact on who you are?

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has had the greatest impact on who I am as a person. In scouting you and your fellow scouts go hiking and camping in some of the wildest places in the world. From the BSA I learned a love of nature, respect for others, and a moral compass.

If you could be on any game show or reality tv show what would it be and why? 

I would choose to be on the reality survival TV show “Alone”. In the show, 10 contestants are dropped ALONE into the wilderness with 10 items of their choosing. The goal is to outlast the other contestants by building shelter and finding food. I have been watching the show for years, and I am astounded by the donkey-brained decisions made by some of the contestants. We’ve seen people lose their ferro rods (fire starting device) on the first day. We’ve seen people eat uncooked food and almost have organ failure. We’ve even seen people spend days building brush shelters and act surprised when their indoor campfire burns down in seconds.

Basically, the trick is to conserve calories and not go insane. So many of the contestants couldn’t win because they either wasted calories running around or couldn’t take the isolation. I would bring a gillnet to catch fish, ferro rod, knife, tarp, sleeping bag, pot, toothpaste, rope, environment appropriate hunting device (e.g. bow or slingshot) , and a big tub of canola oil (extremely high in calories). Give me access to freshwater, and I would have the W.

If you talk to any of Mr. Fairchild’s students you’d know he already has the W.