By Sophia Doan and Lili Metanovic
Wonderful Gerald Zaplawa: oh, what has he not done? Mr. Zaplawa has brought such irreplaceable joy to our school in the past few years. With his exquisite knowledge of mathematics and anything German, he provides his students with tons of information to help them succeed in life. Read more to learn about the lovely Mr. Zaplawa!
Where did you go to high school?
I went to Willow Glen.
Who do you cheer for in the Willow Glen vs. Westmont games?
You know, I went to Willow Glen a while ago, so while there is still a little piece of my heart there, I’m going to have to go Westmont.
What was your school’s mascot?
We were the Rams. And I remember I didn’t like our school’s colors (red and gold). But now they’ve grown on me.
When did you graduate?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… no 1988.
What was your favorite class in high school and why?
Physics, I enjoyed it. And second-year biology. Mainly because for physics I had the same teacher, who was a really cool guy and he’s got kind of a special place in my heart because my senior year he developed cancer, so we got to help see him through his treatment. He was a really good teacher and I honestly remember so many students coming back and visiting. Mr. Lucig for biology was kind of an out there teacher. One year he gave us an extra credit assignment to eat live crickets and mealworms. I attempted both. They both tasted kind of gritty.
What was your most challenging class and why?
Probably English because I wasn’t really into reading.
What extracurricular activities were you involved in?
I played baseball, but not for the school. My junior and senior years I worked 5 days a week at Viking Freight System, a trucking company. I worked in the human resources department.
What was your favorite extracurricular activity?
I enjoyed baseball and I spent a lot of time with my church youth group.
Who were your favorite bands/artists/songs while in high school?
I was sort of the metalhead. Iron Maiden. Rush was my first concert. All of that kind of genre. Boston if you want to get into more classic rock.
What was your favorite TV show while in high school?
I don’t know how much TV I watched. I watched more sports. Giants and a lifelong Steelers fan.
What was your favorite novel?
I did like 1984. I also liked Frankenstein. I liked some short stories and science fiction.
What was your favorite movie while in high school?
I don’t know if I can answer that because I liked so many genres. It’s like comparing pizza to cheesecake.
What was your favorite memory from high school?
Going to two proms on the same night. We went to Willow Glen and then to Presentation. My prom had dinner, so we went to that and then snuck into her prom.
What is your least favorite memory of high school?
I grew up in a kind of toxic household, which is one of the reasons I worked a lot.
What time did school start and end?
If I remember correctly we started at 7:45 and ended before 3:00.
What was your GPA?
Overall probably a 3.5 ish. I had a slow start.
Did you receive any awards?
None that I can recall.
Did you drive to school? What car?
76’ Oldsmobile Starfire was my first car. I was the only one in my friend group that had a car so I would pick them up on the way to school. They would pay $10 a week for gas.
Did you ever get called into the Principal’s office?
Freshman year I got called into the meeting of anyone who got an F on their report card. They gave a speech. I had a welding rod put through my hand, so I failed shop class.
Can you tell us a little bit about your time in Germany?
I worked at two international schools. My friend had a job at one and I was over there on summer break because I was living in Colorado. He sent me an email asking if I wanted to work there. A month later I was standing in Germany with a new job. I was supposed to stay there for two years and then go back to Denver, but pretty soon 2 years turned into 5 years and they offered me a permanent contract. I ended up not taking it because of a governmental paperwork issue. So I ended up coming back here. I worked at Del Mar for 2 years. Then I went down south and worked for a year. I had a hard time coming back to America with reverse culture shock so I went back to Berlin for 4 years.