By Sydney Carper

Oakdale’s staff lost but also gained several members this school year. Mark Widmeyer is one of the newest teachers at Oakdale. He teaches math, algebra specifically.

When Mr. Widmeyer started college he had not yet declared a major. He took several math classes because he thought he was good at math. Eventually, it came time to declare a major so he chose math. He had two math teachers he really liked in college. Mr. Widmeyer realized he could either sit in front of a computer all day like many mathematicians/accountants do or he could become a teacher. Those two teachers influenced his decision to become a teacher.  

Mr. Widmeyer has had good experiences all around at Oakdale. He really enjoys the “comradery in the math department”.

He also likes his students and has had positive relations with them thus far. Mr. Widmeyer said coming to Oakdale was a good experience to do something new and different from what he’s used to. In his free time, Mr. Widmeyer likes running, playing computer games (“PC gamer”), and watching Netflix (he is currently watching 30 Rock).

If he was not a teacher Mr. Widmeyer said he would like to be a computer programmer or an engineer. If he could change one thing about his job Mr. Widmeyer explained, “I wish I could be more creative” in the way he delivers the material.

Mr. Widmeyer said Oakdale’s Mr. Mike Gough encouraged him to come here and take the available position.

Student Amy White said Mr. Widmeyer “made math fun” and described him as a hands on teacher that made the course easy for her.

Senior Nick Marsico,  another student of Mr. Widmeyer’s, said that he was a good teacher and confirmed that Mr. Widmeyer made the class easy. Marsico explained that Mr. Widmeyer helps students a lot, and gives them a lot of time to complete the homework. He divulged Mr. Widmeyer is very fair and “treats students equally”. Marsico believes Mr. Widmeyer is very nice and funny and overall a good teacher to have.

Mr. Widmeyer gets a positive review from students which is reaffirmed by the fact that students that have not and do not have him as a teacher enjoy coming to his SET classroom. Mr. Widmeyer cares about his students and their success. He  makes an effort to explain concepts in detail, and works with students one on one, explaining their mistakes on quizzes so they can improve next time.

Mr. Widmeyer seems to enjoy his new position at Oakdale and students (and staff) seem to enjoy having him just as much.