Dr. Lewchuk is the new Algebra 2 teacher. When interviewed a bit about his life, the following conversation ensued.

Q: Dr. Lewchuk, what made you want to teach at Harding Charter Prep High School?

Dr. Lewchuk: I heard great things about the school from a friend who used to teach here, Sally Ziebell. I was looking for a high school for my two ninth graders. This seemed to be the optimal school in the area, so it became a nice fit.

Q: So I understand that you taught at Casady.

Dr. Lewchuk: Yes, for 11 years.

Q: How was your experience there?

Dr. Lewchuk: It was a great experience, I would say. I absolutely enjoyed the teaching experience. I’m not sure the school was as organized and as rigorous in terms of the daily structure as Harding Charter Prep High School is, and I struggled with some of that.

Q: What subjects have you taught in the past?

Dr. Lewchuk: In the science department at Casady I taught: Biology, Pre-AP Chemistry (mostly just the labs), an Earth and Environmental Science that I absolutely loved and a course in Introductory Physical Science. In the math department I taught: Algebra 1, an Honors Geometry course, Algebra II and AP Statistics.

Q: Of all these courses you have taught, which do you find you are most passionate about?

Dr. Lewchuk: In science, I absolutely loved teaching the Environmental Science course. In math, my absolute favorite course is Algebra II.

Q: What do you think you can bring, from your knowledge, to Harding Charter Prep High School and your students?

Dr. Lewchuk: Hopefully I bring a love and a passion for learning math. I truly enjoy teaching things. I also like teaching the same material in maybe a different way than before. I’m a big fan of bringing different tools to the toolbox. I like bringing a different angle to teaching.

Q: I understand that you have lived in Canada; can you tell me about that?

Dr. Lewchuk: I lived in Canada for the first 35 years of my life. I then lived in Denver for several months working at a research facility there. I then lived in France for a year and a half, doing research in a lab in suburban Paris. Then I lived in Norman, OK for about five or six years working at OU.

Q: Of all these places you lived, which would you say was your favorite?

Dr. Lewchuk: Paris, my wife and I are still more homesick from Paris than anywhere else in the world. If I won the lottery at the end of this teaching year, I would be living in an apartment in Paris, without a doubt.

Q: What do you learn from students?

Dr. Lewchuk: I learned a little bit about the teenage language and pop culture. I was called “the dopest teacher he’d ever had” by a student. I later found out that was a good thing I learn about what young people are interested today. It is definitely a different world today than it was 30 years ago.

Q: Do you have any hobbies?

Dr. Lewchuk: I love to cook. If I have a bad week, spending all day in the kitchen on Saturday is like therapy. I do a lot of cooking ahead on the weekends and put it in the freezer. After a bad week, a day in the kitchen usually brings me back down to earth. Additionally I am the president of Jazz in June every summer in Norman, Oklahoma. This particular hobby takes up the majority of June for me, and by the end of the festival I am a zombie.

Q: What type of music do you listen to?

Dr. Lewchuk: I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Four Tops, things like that. I’m also a big fan of Bob Seeger. I grew up in my 20’s just when MTV came out, so most venues were converting from having live bands to playing music off MTV. Duran Duran and Madonna are bands like of my youth.

Q: Can you tell me about your family?

Dr. Lewchuk: I have two children, a boy and a girl, Natia and Dylan. I believe they are unique in the world because they have two different last names. My daughter has my last name; my son has my wife’s last name. They were born in an extreme emergency crisis situation; my wife’s younger brother was really instrumental in getting us to the hospital quickly and probably saving their lives. Our son is actually named after her brother, Michael DelCol.