After 24 years at Trinity, English teacher Robert Boerth is retiring. In these 24 years, Boerth has left a resounding impact on the school. His love for teaching is obvious, as seen through the many roles he has taken on during his time on campus. 

  Boerth came to teach at Trinity on a whim. After teaching at Stetson University, Boerth applied for a teaching position at Trinity to see what it was like teaching high school students. 

  “I sent in my resume to Trinity, not due to any advertisement, it was just out of the blue,” Boerth said. “I got a quick call back, and they said they needed a teacher … it was just a fortuitous timing that brought me here.”

  Boerth has taught various classes across the English department. When he started at Trinity, he taught English 9, which dealt with mythology and early English literature. He was also asked to step into the role of adviser for the Trinity Voice, having no prior experience in running a student publication, Boerth had to learn a new way of teaching. 

  “There was definitely a learning curve,” Boerth said. “One of the challenges with being the advisor for a student newspaper is that I had a very strong sense that I was not the editor for the newspaper, and it should be a vehicle for the students to report on things and express their opinions. And sometimes that comes into tension with other people at the school who don’t see it in the same light.”

  His time as newspaper adviser set a tone for the way he taught English, giving students the freedom to explore their interests and discover their beliefs while in the confines of a structured English course. 

  Since then, Boerth has taught classes from English 10 to AP Language and Literature. Throughout his years of teaching different classes and students, he has learned that teaching is fluid, and it is important to understand the needs of the students in each class. 

  “(My) experience has always been new and constantly changing, which has been challenging, but it’s also made it really fun,” Boerth said. 

  Despite the challenge, Boerth always looked forward to meeting his new students each year; he enjoyed getting to know the dynamics of each class. 

  “It’s the specific chemistry of each class,” Boerth said. “I might be teaching multiple sections of the same class, but it is always the case that each section has its own chemistry.”

  In addition to how students change, Boerth has gotten to witness how the campus has changed since 2001.

  “The Grille was known as the Pagoda, and it was open air,” Boerth said. “The library was a much smaller building, and it looked nothing like the Student Resource Center.”

  Throughout the years, Boerth found different ways to get involved on campus, mainly through clubs. Boerth has sponsored a number of clubs, like the Astronomy Club, the Rocketry Club, and the Strategy and Role-Playing Club.

  “Most of the clubs I’ve advised are because I have an interest that kind of dovetails with the interests of the students,” Boerth said.

  His Strategy and Role-Playing Club has expanded beyond school hours, and students come to meet and participate on weekends. 

  Boerth has found a passion in games and game-making. He has connected with students about this passion as well, and often plays different strategy games with students. Through his club advising and game making, Boerth has cultivated an environment where students feel seen and heard.

  After Boerth retires, he plans on continuing with his passion in analog games. He will be busy working on designing, writing about and playing different strategy games. Boerth also plans on possibly returning for the interim term and teaching a game-making class. Outside of that, he hopes to do more volunteering with organizations he is passionate about and come back to Trinity as a substitute.

  Even in his retirement, he hopes to instill important lessons in members of the Trinity family. He was reminded of this attitude at this year’s prom while looking at a plaque in the venue. The picture depicted three children who were martyrs. The writing below encouraged children to have the fortitude and confidence to stand up to emperors. 

  “I thought, as my last prom at Trinity chaperoning, that was an encouraging and wise admonition, which I think students would benefit from,” Boerth said. “Part of what education is, is bringing people up to have a good sense of values and a good sense of themselves, and having the strength to speak up and stand up for things that they know are true.”