Standing in the halls of the woodshop corridor in Colonia High School, Mr. William Leahy isn’t your ordinary woodworking instructor. With a teaching history of 34 years, it’s most certain that he loves his job.
Family History
After all, Mr. William Leahy grew up around his family members cutting wood and making things. As a matter of fact his grandfather was a carpenter. Growing up Mr. Leahy would complete projects with his grandfather. His whole childhood he was brought up around tools. So later on in life he became passionate about this artful expression. Therefore, Mr. Leahy decided to help young students interested in this field to pursue their passion. In fact his whole family enjoyed woodworking so much that it became their professions.
Mr. Leahy’s fascination
Words can’t explain how much Mr. Leahy enjoys creating art with wood. Mr. Leahy thinks that there are so many things you make with wood that it’s ridiculous. Mr. Leahy has made toys, furniture, and so much more. What fascinates him the most is how there are so many different types of wood, and how each wood has its own purpose. Mr. Leahy could go on for hours talking about soft wood and hard wood. He’ll cover the basics on what you would need to know and why you need to know it. Explaining the purpose of certain types of wood maybe sound difficult and unusual, but Mr. Leahy can definitely make students understand it better.
His Business
Here is an interesting fun fact that most people didn’t know about Mr. Leahy. Mr. L has his own business. “GES Quality Siding” is the name of his business. Mr. Leahy’s business consists of installing decks, windows, doors, sidings, and finishing basements. He gives all his work one hundred percent effort. It didn’t matter if the job required an unusual request; he would get the job done. For twenty five years Mr. Leahy had a booming business. He had his own business, his own demands, and was his own boss. Mr. Leahy was very proud of his business and what it represented.
What he dislikes about his job
When Mr. Leahy was asked what he dislikes most about his job, his answer didn’t hold back any remorse. What he dislikes the most about his job was the fact that the public perceptions of schools are so bad that it’s terrible. He honestly just wants the public to wake up and realize the positives that schools have to offer and how it can better the students for the future. It is important to note that Mr. Leahy is actively involved in the Teacher’s Union in Woobdridge Township; therefor,e he knows a lot about the new rules for teachers and governmental changes affecting education. Also, Leahy teaches in a content area that could be eliminated if there were ever severe budget cuts.
Other Professions Mr. Leahy would have considered
If Mr. Leahy didn’t become a woodworking instructor he would have been a police officer or state trooper. Mr. Leahy can definitely pass as being a police officer or a state trooper. With his height and muscles as an advantage, Mr. Leahy would make a outstanding law enforcer.
Now you may think when underclassmen take woodshop they may be eager enough to hurt themselves. That’s not the case if they had Mr. Leahy as a woodworking instructor. He covers all of the basics and describes how the process should be done properly. With an amazing instructor at hand, what is bound to go wrong? Due to Mr. Leahy’s safety lessons, he has not had any major injuries. Mr. Leahy is proud to say that his class injury percentage is zero. As long as Mr. Leahy is the instructor nothing can possibly go wrong.
Safety
No one is perfect at anything, and Mr. Leahy makes that clear. Mr. Leahy is extremely big on safety. The reason being is because safety is the number one priority when it comes down to working with any tools and hardware. Mr. Leahy strives to make the working environment safe for his students and himself. Safety comes first in his book, and if you were to disagree with that, Mr. Leahy would tell you otherwise. Because without safety, there is a limited chance of events going the way they were planned.
