What are some goals for the next few years as a teacher?

“Get better at teaching what I’m teaching. I have a new class this year, which is an engineering class and it’s very kind of touch and go. I don’t know exactly what we’re doing until right before doing it. Once I get more comfortable with that I think it’ll go a lot easier. I can kind of learn what works and what doesn’t work but then hopefully I might transition into more of the computer science classes and maybe a little bit less math. Not that math isn’t cool, but my kind of focus is more on computer science. I think that stuff is pretty fun, so we’ll have to see. I know Mr. LaVergne has a bunch of computer science classes, if he’s willing to give any of them up. But maybe in the next couple of years, something like that might happen.”

What’s a success story from your teaching experience?

“When I was a student teacher, no one in there wanted to do any math and it was always a struggle trying to get them to participate. So I had a game where I put up on the board — it was like a race track — and divided up the students into teams, and they would have questions. If they answered one right, then their car on the track would go up by a point. Then they could also, instead of going up by a point, they could go and move another car back by a point. So there’s kind of like some sabotage and strategy and of course the winner got prizes. I got to see everyone was actually involved and active. And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice,’ so I think they learned from that.”

What college did you go to?

University of Arkansas, which is in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is a very nice part of the state. It’s in the northwest part of the state which is definitely my favorite part. You go south and you just get a bunch of like plains. I don’t like that. But I do like the forest, the mountains and the hills, and that’s what northwest Arkansas has. They got all of it.”

Why did you choose University of Arkansas?

“I went to Central High School in Little Rock. About 50% to 60% of the school, if they were going to college, went to the University of Arkansas, and a lot of people went to Texas. Texas was a big one too. It was kind of just like that’s the way to go. In-state tuition was nice as well. I got it all paid for, so I didn’t even have to take out loans, which I was very thankful for.”

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

“Let’s see, I just want to have a positive impact on the students because I remember, and basically anyone that I asked, they can always remember several teachers that they had in high school that they just loved. You also tend to remember the teachers that you hate too. But I’d like to be in the first category. So honestly, if I do a good enough job where people look back and think, ‘Oh, Mr. Pierce was a good teacher,’ that’s all the legacy I’m looking for. That’s pretty much it. I want to do a good job, and I want to kind of be remembered for doing a good job, at least not remembered for being bad.

What would you say to your younger self?

“Don’t care so much about what other people think. Because I know high school is a pretty intense time, especially for some people, where it’s kind of like, who’s popular or who’s not popular, the certain cliques, and trying to fit in, and all that kind of stuff. And while it’s decently important to try and fit in, or at least find some kind of group you’re a part of, you can easily let it go kind of overboard and start to think about ‘what does everyone think about me?’ I was very concerned with how people thought about me in high school, but in the end nothing happened. I don’t see anyone that I went to high school with nowadays. I shouldn’t have spent as much time and effort worrying about that kind of stuff back then. So it was more of just kind of relaxing and taking in the time, and enjoying it, rather than trying to stress about stuff that ultimately doesn’t matter and something that I couldn’t really change anyways.

Who do you look up to?

“my mom. She is probably the most hard working person that I know, over the past couple of years, there’s been a lot of stuff that’s kind of hit us hard, like our family, and she has just, soldiered through all of it and been really strong. I don’t know how she does it, she’s busy all the time, no free time. It’s just constant stuff that she’s got to deal with, and she does, and she doesn’t complain about it. So she just has this really strong mental attitude. I mean, there’s a ton of other things. She’s always been a  super supportive mom but her attitude about stuff is just the best, she doesn’t complain about it. I wish I could be like that, and I’m not, but I wish I could, so I definitely look up to her.”

(5/10) Dr.Enuf–

“smells like sprite but it tastes like a worse sprite or a seven up. Honestly, you know what? I’m gonna put it in between the root beer and the Bazooka, because it was definitely funky. But I don’t like the Root beer, Ring pop, and Moxie because it stayed in my mouth afterwards, and continued to be bad. This one wasn’t great, and then the taste just disappeared”

(2/10) Moxie–

“it’s all right, but i got a hint of, like, cough medicine, like the stuff that i used to take when i was a kid, because there’s like a tang or something. definitely not the worst thing i’ve tasted but differently not the best”

(4/10) Ring pop soda–

“Not a big fan, there was a subtle hint of plastic. I don’t know about this one. That is better than Moxie in my opinion. Now the root beer is slightly better, just slightly.”

(4/10) Brownie Root Beer–

“Okay, it is absolutely better than Moxie. not my favorite kind of root beer, It’s decent.”

(7/10) Bazooka Soda–

“Gotta be honest, I like that more than I thought I would. It was weird when it hit my tongue and I was like “oh that’s a weird sensation”but it was actually pretty nice. I don’t mind that one.”

(8/10) Whirly pop Rainbow fruit punch soda–

“I love the color, I like how it smells too. It’s the best but we still have two more but that was a good flavor. It tastes like fruit punch, That was a good one”

(9/10) Huckleberry Soda –

“I don’t know what it smells like but it has some kind of memory with it, I love it. It doesn’t even taste like soda, it tastes like juice or something. Okay, I’m sorry whirly pop but that’s gonna be first. Now that is amazing, I could see myself drinking that. The color was perfect too. It was perfect.”