With the start of a new year at the Gatton Academy comes several new personalities to the staff. We are excited about these passionate and dedicated individuals who have joined our team. They come to us from different parts of the country with a host of varied experiences. Over the last few weeks, the staff has had a chance to get to know each other. It’s now your chance to meet the new faces behind the Academy. Each day this week, we’ll profile a new staff member.

Academy Avatars sat down with each new staff member to post ten questions in hopes of getting to know them better. Avatars came up with five questions that we asked each person. Each Avatar also posed five unique questions of their own choosing to ask as well.

Up next is Residential Counselor Brian Rogers.

Interview by Rohith Palli, Academy Avatar

Why did you decide to join the Gatton Academy staff?

I initially joined because I felt that my education was lacking, so I wanted to give you guys sort of what I didn’t have in a way.

Why did you come back this year?

I came back this year because I was an RC for a little while last year, and I enjoyed it.  To be honest, what got me in was that I was thinking about being an optometrist, and I knew that I could take the course work. I was, like, it’s going take a year to matriculate, so I thought I could do both; it was a great job. I had a blast doing it last time.  It was a great job and I could apply to optometry school, too.

Where did you attend college and what subjects did you study?

I studied at Western, and I majored in philosophy and biology.

What are you looking forward to the most about the coming school year?

I am probably looking most forward to the most is community service, in a weird way. Academically, I am not going to teach you much–you are all much more intelligence than I–but I may be able to give you some experiences you haven’t had before.  You’ll be able go out in the community and do something good.

What do you think makes the Gatton Academy a unique educational experience?

Besides the fact that a hundred and twenty of the brightest all around gifted and talented from Kentucky come, it’s always unique because the personalities are vastly different  with different people.  From year-to-year, the dynamic changes.  That way, every year is a new program, so it will be cool. The most unique thing is how the personalities mesh together and create different atmosphere every year; that’s what’s the most unique.

What contributions do you hope to make to life at the Gatton Academy?

I have some personal convictions and personal outlooks that are probably different from many people. But just like you, I have a different background, a different world perspective, and I can contribute that world perspective as you do.

Going back to last year, what did you enjoy most about interacting with the students in your five week stay?

In my five weeks, what I probably enjoyed the most was some of the interesting conversations. I don’t know if I taught them anything, but they introduced me to a lot of new ideas I hadn’t even thought about– just some of the things they were saying.  It was more of some of the conversations I was able to have; some of the things I was able to see from them.  It’s what I learned from them that I really enjoyed.

Do you play any sports?

As far as play, I like racquetball and football; ultimate (Frisbee) is cool. As far as the ones you don’t really play, I like rock climbing; that’s definitely my favorite of them all

What’s your favorite movie?

Dead Poet’s Society

What do you do in your spare time?

If I have enough of it, I’ll go climbing.  If I have twenty or thirty minutes (or whatever), I’ll read or sleep or eat.  Really, I just Google junk. If I have thirty free minutes, I will get on Google and just type junk I don’t know and just read Wikis.