By Ashwin Aggarwal

“My submarine could be sinking; I’m going to die…”

This remark comes from new Upper School math teacher Derek Podolny, about some of his experiences in the military. The math department’s new addition served as a Commander in the US Navy and was a nuclear engineer for a submarine, the USS Norfolk, for three years. 

USS Norfolk submarine.

Podolny was born in Lubbock, Texas, and moved around all over the world, partly because his father was in the Air Force. He even stayed in Iceland for a few of months as a child. After high school, Podolny enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at the University of Notre Dame. ROTC is a commissioning process, where instead of going to a military academy, a student goes to a regular four-year college, and the university pays the tuition. However, once the student graduates, they pledge to give time to one of the branches of the US military as an officer. In Podolny’s case, he owed five years of service to the Navy. Podolny graduated from Notre Dame with a major in mathematics and engineering sciences in 2004.

Podolny was stationed aboard the USS Norfolk starting in 2005. Even with his knowledge as a nuclear engineer, Podolny recalled “a very scary experience,” one that he could not have possibly been prepared for. 

During one training exercise, the submarine he was stationed on needed testing to ensure it could safely dive to deep depths and surface quickly. This testing is known as an Emergency Blow. 

While the sub was descending, all of a sudden Podolny was taken aback by a massive “BOOM!” Podolny remarked on his thought processes through this event: “You don’t know what it is, you can’t see anywhere, all you just hear is this gigantic boom, you’re fearing that water is coming into your submarine, and you didn’t know why.” The crew called off the testing and immediately surfaced. Fortunately, this boom was only caused by an air pocket stuck in the submarine’s ventilation system. When the submarine was submerged, the air pocket was crushed due to the immense pressure. 

After his adventures with the Navy, Podolny taught AP BC Calculus at Douglass S. Freeman High School in Henrico County. There he was awarded the 2021 REB Award for Teaching Excellence. 

So far, the most significant difference Podolny has noticed between Freeman and Collegiate is the number of students he had. At Freeman, he taught 160 students, but now he teaches around 60. Podolny is glad that he can “get to know his students, and that there is a higher level of relationship building that can happen” between teachers and students here. He also mentioned that the responsibility that Collegiate entrusts to its students is much higher than at Freeman, like the lack of locks on lockers.

Here at Collegiate, Podolny teaches AP AB Calculus, Honors PreCalculus, and geometry. If you ever find yourself in his classroom, you are sure to see the lines of math books around his room. Podolny is also an avid fan of the author Malcolm Gladwell.

Going from the Navy to a math teacher is a notable change, but Podolny loves math and loves teaching even more. Part of his inspiration to become a math teacher was that he was ahead of his peers when it came to math when he was younger. When he moved to Oklahoma as a young kid, his new junior high school did not have another math class for him, as he had already taken Algebra II. So he retook the class and began acting as a peer tutor for many of his classmates. “I found it more enjoyable coming up with new ways to explain things to my classmates.” Podolny continued his role as a peer tutor for his friends and classmates throughout high school and college. He “had friends who were trying to qualify for the Navy’s nuclear propulsion program and needed some physics and some math support.” He also found it “enjoyable if I can make people see connections and the fun in math.”

Podolny and his wife when he was still in the Navy.

Outside of school, Podolny loves to get outside and into nature. He often finds himself taking the time to hike the Appalachian Trail and spend time with his three children and his wife, Meghan.

Also, in all four years at Notre Dame, Podolny was part of an all-male a capella group. Even now, Podolny still shows his love for singing, as he is part of a coral group at his church.

All photos courtesy of Derek Podolny.