By Brennan Heims

When I was in 8th Grade in 2020, everyone at Collegiate was returning from the spring of online school. When I returned, I had Middle School English teacher Nathan Goodwyn as my advisor and English teacher.

Due to pandemic restrictions on campus that year, I remember each advisory took place outside, no matter the temperature. We only went into our classroom if we had a lesson, and I remember being jealous of the other inside advisories. We had English classes in a split classroom due to social distancing guidelines, with one room proctored by former Middle School teacher Carolyn Villanueva, and some units that stand out from that year were learning about Frederick Douglass and William Shakespeare’s Othello. I recently interviewed Goodwyn to see what has changed since I was last in his classroom and learn more about his life.

Photo credit: Brennan Heims.

One noticeable difference in the Middle School is that, starting this fall, the 8th Graders have two exams a day, allowing them to take up a full school day. The purpose is to shorten the time that students have to be stressed about exams. 

Along with teaching, Goodwyn has been coaching basketball and baseball since he started teaching at Collegiate in 2001. When he started at Collegiate, he wanted to be involved with both of these sports, and he’s learned how to coach from his colleagues and from experience.

His teaching career started when he was 22 with a fellowship at Collegiate as an assistant teacher to legendary Middle School English teacher John Coates. He has grown to love the Collegiate community, saying, “It’s more than a job; it’s more like a family.” Goodwyn has three children at Collegiate, and he says he has grown as a person during his time here. 

I have a greater level of respect for Goodwyn now. It wasn’t something I thought about in 8th Grade, but now I can see he wants to see the best for each student, and even when coaching he never lets himself say that a kid’s aspirations aren’t possible.