Eric Mabery Enjoying New Role at Athenian’s Upper School

Eric Mabery joined Athenian as a biology teacher and advisor just one day before school started. 

Eric grew up with biology as an interest, and it has always been a part of his life. “I've been interested [in biology] since I was a little kid. Mostly, my interest started from my mom. My mom always wanted me to be a doctor and forced it on me--specifically, a medical doctor,” Eric said. Now, Eric passes on his mom’s passion to students at Athenian.

Eric appreciates the smaller class sizes at Athenian. “I've been teaching for a long time and small class sizes are super important for learning. [The small class sizes] were super appealing. I had also never taught high school students and wanted to see what it is like,” he said. 

In addition to Athenian’s unique classroom settings, Eric is enjoying his time teaching high school students. “I like [teaching high schoolers]. It is something that I have always been interested in and wanted to do, but had no opportunity,” he said. 

While Eric enjoys almost every aspect of teaching, one part stands out more than any other. “The best part about teaching is having someone come back to you and say that it is because of me that I became a biology person or pursued this thing,” he said. 

Eric’s teaching style also seems to align with many student’s learning. Eric said, “My teaching style is demanding, but I want everyone to succeed. You're going to succeed if you take my class.” 

Junior Oscar Chen, a biology class student, really enjoys being in Eric’s class. “I am very lucky to have him. His teaching style and his workload are both really good. I hope he retains this type of environment in class for the rest of the year. In the labs, it can be hard, but I learn,” Oscar said. 

Eric is still adjusting. “So far, so good. I am slowly adjusting to a different pace from college. Different level of understanding but surprisingly very positive and good level of experience,” Eric said.

Teaching biology is not all Eric does. “Nature photography and cycling are some of the favorite things I like to do. I have started learning jiu-jitsu, too,” he said. Jiu-jitsu is a form of martial art that centers around grappling, ground fighting, and submission holds. “But I'm not really good at jiu-jitsu because I just started,” Eric said.