By Emma Cordes

“I became a teacher because I believe that seeing a student learn and succeed in class is one of the most fulfilling things, and knowing you played a role in their lives is very gratifying, ” said Phoenixville Area High School’s in-school substitute Mr. Gnias on teaching high school students. Originally from Phoenixville, he has come back to make an impact on students’ lives at his old high school. “It is very weird working where I went to high school,” said Gnias, “[I] get a different point of view. Instead of looking [at PAHS] as a student, [I am] seeing a teacher’s perspective.”

Growing up, Mr. Gnias had a very different picture of the high school than what he sees today. The difference: “There are walls and doors on the classrooms and the cameras actually work in the hallways so students get in trouble when they try to leave school. When I went to Phoenixville the building was under construction.” With the addition of new teachers and principals, it is hard for Mr. Gnias to realize he is even in the same school. Before graduating from Phoenixville in 2002, Mr. Gnias made an impact on the school athletically. Aside from being on the golf team, he was also a part of the baseball team that attended the 2001 Pennsylvania state championships. His experience with athletics at the school was an inspiration for him to help out with the school’s golf team. He said, “I wanted to help out with the golf team because I knew that I could contribute a lot to the development of their games.”

After graduating high school, Mr. Gnias attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Not knowing where college would take him, he decided to take a few education courses. It was in those classes he realized teaching was for him and he knew exactly where he wanted to teach. “I always wanted to come back to where I went to school because I love the school and the faculty is great.” Mr. Gnias prefers teaching high school students over middle school students. “They understand more about what’s going on in the world today and most of the time they more mature,” he claims.

What are Mr. Gnias’ plans for the future? “I plan on hopefully getting a full time job teaching history close to home, with my own classroom and students.” Mr. Gnias has always favored teaching history over any other subject due to his interest in the Revolutionary War. This could be due to the inspiration he received as a student at Phoenixville from one of our own staff members today. He stated, “Mr. Coyne inspired me because of his exciting lessons and how he would engage students in the classroom. I guess I should also give Mr. Winnick some credit too.”

In his spare time Mr. Gnias likes to hang out with friends, play golf and watch his favorite movies which include GoodFellas and Casino. And although Mr. Gnias is interested in history, he has nothing but good plans for the future. Now that golf season is over, Mr. Gnias has time to help him push toward his goal of becoming a full time teacher. Who knows, maybe in the near future we will be no longer be seeing Mr. Gnias taking the places of other teachers in the classrooms, but assuming his own place in his own classroom as a full time teacher at Phoenixville Area High School.