Your favorite teacher interviewed: Mr. McCormick

Your+favorite+teacher+interviewed%3A+Mr.+McCormick

Brady Swancutt, Staff Writer

Imagine setting up camp in the middle of a peaceful, idyllic forest, readying your sleeping bag for the night. The warm fire begins to die down, and the animals have all gone to their dens for the night; you ease into a most comfortable sleep.

Suddenly, the loud cacophony of heavy metal banging out Iron Maiden barre chords echoes throughout the forest and through your brain. The shadow of an air-guitar playing monster causes the critters of the night to screech and flee, creating chaos in all directions. Who is this disturbing element deep within the forest? From whence did those warlike drum beats emanate? You look over, and in a nearby campsite you see your new Mayo Personal Finance teacher, rocking.

If this sounds like an amazing encounter, then Mr. McCormick is the teacher for you. In his free time he finds himself doing an assortment of activities. You’ll run into him if you attend concerts in Rochester, particularly when a heavy metal band rolls through town. However, music isn’t the only thing that makes Mr. McCormick an interesting teacher. He loves watching sports such as baseball, which he played when he was younger. Walking his dogs is another one of his favorite activities, which he often does with his wife. He can be found walking the dogs so often, since he tries to keep them off of his perfectly manicured grass: his love of keeping his lawn looking pristine has become his pastime; it’s an artform.

Perhaps his love of lawn and garden stems from his rural upbringing. Mr. McCormick was born and raised forty-five minutes north of Rochester in Lake City, Minnesota, a town of 5,261 people. After he graduated from high school, he studied education and graduated from Winona State University.  After earning his masters at Winona State, he moved to Rochester to start his career in teaching, but that’s not the only career Mr. McCormick has held. He wore many hats when he was younger, having worked four different jobs before settling down as a teacher. He went from pumping gas, to working as a bartender, from working in a factory, to detasseling corn for a summer. These jobs helped him pay his way through college. 

Mr. McCormick started his teaching career at Willow Creek where he taught for 28 years. After that, he bounced around to every secondary school: “I know every back road to get to all the secondary schools.” This year Mr. McCormick finally got his dream job of being able to teach personal finance to high schoolers. He also has had quite the impression of Rochester and Mayo High School, saying, “I love the climate here. Homecoming week was amazing to watch and be a part of.” Beyond that, he enjoys working with students and loves to be able to have conversations with young adults, helping them lock onto their career aspirations and become inspired to move towards greater successes in life.