Señor Gathje has been teaching Spanish at Mayo for 26 years, but 2026 marks the end of his teaching career at Mayo, and it marks the beginning of a new journey for him.

When Mr. Gathje was in high school, he had no idea he was going to be a teacher. He still held these feelings going into college at the U of M. The big switch, however, was when he began tutoring fellow students in college. He found a love for helping teach these students to discover how to do things they never thought they could. The reason he liked Spanish so much was that the Spanish classes he took at the U were small, with 20-30 kids, while his other classes were often large and a bit more chaotic. He began a double major in child development and eventually went on to become a Spanish teacher in Anoka, MN.

Anoka was a large High School with about 3000 students. This could sometimes be challenging for Mr. Gathje, and he would talk about these problems with one of the German teachers at the school, with whom he frequently carpooled. This German teacher taught Mr. Gathje not to worry so much about the small details and proved to be a great source of wisdom and guidance.

After seven years at Anoka, Mr. Gathje moved back to Rochester and returned home to Mayo High School, the same high school he attended over a decade earlier. He has now been teaching here for 26 years, wrapping up his final year at Mayo. Two-time student of Mr. Gathje, Michael Engman says, “It’s sad to see him go. He’s been such a huge part in helping me to be fluent in Spanish.”

Mr. Gathje says his favorite things throughout his years teaching at Mayo are “Hearing back from students who have graduated, about their adventures in Spanish-speaking countries, and I love to see students in one my Spanish 2 classes begin to understand and enjoy Spanish when at first they struggled.” Spanish 4 student Arjun Sethi said, “I didn’t love Spanish when I first started, but now I would feel confident ordering food at a Spanish restaurant.”

Mr. Gathje is going into an independent counseling position, counseling married couples, young people, and those of other demographics. He has been doing this for years now, but he has decided to make the leap into a full-time role. He will miss the students, staff, and teachers at Mayo but is looking forward to his new position.

The future for Mr. Gathje is not all work though, as he is hoping to eventually travel more than he already has, visiting places like Uruguay and Argentina, doing some fishing there as well.

As Mr. Gathje wraps up his final year at Mayo, the students and staff of Mayo High School want to say thank you for 26 years of dedication, service, and genuine caring. We wish you the best of luck as you move on in your journey!