AP Lit students:

I want to provide a brief introduction to who I am, what I like, and a little bit about what makes me tick. This year, I am starting my eleventh year at North. This is my first year teaching AP Lit, but not the first time teaching AP classes. I have taught every course North offers to Freshman-Juniors except Journalism, and I have taught a few electives as well. At North I co-sponsor Senior Board and I just finished working on my seventh yearbook, the one you received at registration. While I no longer sponsor yearbook, it is something I am extremely proud of. Finally, if you have been to the awards ceremony at the end of the year, or at graduation, you have heard my voice–that’s right, I read the names at both events! I am excited to be your AP Lit teacher and share even more about my passions throughout the year.

I love my department and I love the people I work with. Rarely do you find a place in life where you absolutely love your job and it is even more rare to find colleagues whose passion equals or exceeds your own. The group of individuals in office 240 are some of the best teachers, mentors, and people you will ever meet.  

I attended the University of Illinois for my undergraduate degree–funny story about how I earned my last credit to graduate. My declared major when I entered was Mechanical Engineering and when I left, it was History with a minor in English. I found out my sophomore year that it is okay to follow your true passions and stay true to yourself. I then attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where I earned a master’s in Teaching. I also have a master’s degree from North Central College in Administration and Leadership. I also am one class away from being a certified LBS1, meaning I can teach special education. All of these places and courses have shaped me in one form or another. 

My family is not only my biggest source of energy, but also my biggest time suck! (don’t tell them I said that!). I met my wife at U of I, we got married, and now, 13 years later, we have a beautiful family of six. Grace, Nick, Mae, and Joey. My kids are full of energy, love sports, swimming, playing outside, and, of course, watching tv/movies. I am not exaggerating when I say I have seen Encanto at least 30 times this summer. My wife’s family, who I consider my family, lives in Naperville so we frequently see her two sisters, their husbands, their five kiddos and my wife’s parents. Her brother lives in Arlington Heights so we see him about once a month. My mom and sister, along with her husband and three kids, live in southern Illinois. So all told, I have eight nephews and one niece! I feel like every night of the week one of my kids has a game, a practice, a school event, a friend party, or 10,000 pages of homework! 

As if we aren’t busy enough, we love to travel and as my family gets older, we will become more ambitious with our traveling. This past summer, we stayed in a cabin in Missouri that included a lake to fish and kayak on, numerous hiking trails–I didn’t realize my kids were city kids until we went on some nature hikes at 8 in the morning–and numerous opportunities to see the wildlife. While my kids are still young, I think it is important to expose them to some of the great offerings our country has to offer in the way of National Parks and historical landmarks. 

Finally, I break the mold: I am not an avid reader, but I do enjoy reading. I don’t consume books, or devour them, or sit with a pen and mark them up with the fervor I expect my students to do. No. Instead, I find reading enjoyable. I find it as an opportunity to place myself in the shoes and experiences of others. To find emotion and passion in the moments of shared experiences is how I seek to read. Not all texts ‘do it for me’ and not all texts should. But when I come across a text that allows me into the story, to ruminate through the character’s lives, to share in the success and failures of the protagonist, I find joy. 

This journey we will be on together is one where I will start as your guide and then allow you to take the lead down whatever path you wish to take. You may choose the easy, paved path that circumvents difficulty, or you can choose to push yourself and take the more difficult path. The choice will be yours.

Mr. Williams