Either in his 9th-grade Integrated Science classroom or his Jr/Sr Research room just down the hall, many know Mr. Ethan Kantz as a wonderful teacher and indispensable member of the AOS staff. Specializing in applied physics and material science, he oversees a plethora of upperclassmen research projects on A-Days while also teaching the fundamentals of the AOS curriculum to 9th-grade students on B-Days. Outside of school, Kantz spends time with family and friends catching up on movies or playing video games. He also enjoys nature, depending on if he’s in the mood. But how did Mr. Kantz’s teaching journey begin?

Hailing from the York/Poquoson area in southwestern Virginia, Mr. Kantz attended Virginia Tech for his undergraduate and graduate studies. He later moved to Loudoun County to become a teacher at the Academies amidst the onset of the pandemic, so his first year was entirely virtual.

“The pandemic has definitely been the biggest challenge in my few years of teaching,” Kantz admitted. “It was entirely remote, so it was more challenging to build the same types of relationships I am able to build today, with both faculty and students.”

Once returning to an in-person learning environment in the 2021-2022 school year, Mr. Kantz finally had the opportunity to truly get involved with his students and help advance their research. On a typical research day he can be found teaching researchers how to use the building’s only Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) or mentoring students in solving problems they encounter in their projects. In addition, Mr. Kantz has the opportunity to construct an in-depth relationship with his students, ranging from freshmen in his Integrated Science class, to sophomores in the research signature process, to juniors and seniors in their research projects. He sees how the students grow through not just high school, but the AOS program as a whole.

“Our [AOS] program is extremely unique in the way we help build students’ work ethic and scientific knowledge. When students join the program as freshmen, they have a wide range of skill sets,” Mr. Kantz recalls. “The entire program is built around the ideas of research when the students reach junior and senior year,” he elaborates, “Each step of the way, the curriculum is designed to expose students to STEM and research.”

Mr. Kantz is a proud member of the AOS and ACL staff: “I have loved my time at ACL. The faculty and staff are outstanding colleagues, and the student body has been amazing to work with, and it is so cool to see such a warm and inviting STEM culture focused on researching, exploring, collaborating and innovating!”

 

written and photographed by Edmund Garcia

edited by Saanvi Gutta and Sarasi Rout