ALUMNI NEWS
Lessons Taught and Taken A n A L U M NI P R O FI L E By Jack Todd ’09
Photo: W. Ayesh
really, really fulfilling experience.” Procknow’s Kent Denver experiences continue to resonate today. Many KDS teachers inspired him, but he thinks he took the most from his four years of Latin with Hildegarde Roberts. “She really impacted me a lot, both personally and professionally,” says Procknow. “In terms of teaching, I think what she did so well was holding high expectations. “Latin was always the hardest. It was always the class with the most homework. It was always the class I spent the most time on, but it was always my favorite,” he continues. “I think if a teacher can really push you hard and can still inspire you and create passion and inspiration in a classroom, then she’s doing a great job.” He also noted the influence of English teachers Loni DesJardin and Neil Batt—for their creativity, spontaneity and thoughtfulness— on his classroom technique. Procknow sought to recreate at King’s Academy the tight-knit community that he found at Kent Denver. For him, community can make or break a student’s experience. What’s important is “knowing that your peers, your teachers, the administration and staff and everyone involved in the school is there for you when you need it,” says Procknow. “Just knowing that the
whole community is rallying around something and watching out for you, I think, is really important.” As he found at Kent Denver, teaching is about more than just education. It’s about the students, the community and the overall experience. With that in mind, Procknow struggles to pick one image that defines his career teaching so far. “I don’t know if I can really pinpoint one specific moment because I think every day has at least one instance where I feel really thankful to have gone into this profession,” he says. As he was at Kent Denver, Procknow is involved in many aspects of life at King’s Academy. In addition to being an English teacher, he acts as a college RA with the freshmen boys and also coaches the tennis team. “In two years I’ve led my team to an astounding record of 0-1,” Procknow jokes.
Photo: W. Ayesh
Chase Procknow ’09 may not have realized it when he graduated from Kent Denver, but the path to a teaching career was already wellestablished. In school, Procknow was a varsity tennis player, a Kent Denver Westerra Credit Union teller, a peer mentor and a volunteer at Breakthrough Kent Denver, where he was heavily involved in teaching everything from writing to science, history to Arabic. After graduation, Procknow attended Emory University, where he studied English and Arabic. Each summer, he returned to Breakthrough to teach and, according to Procknow, it was this involvement that inspired him to pursue a career in education. Currently, Procknow is in his third year teaching at King’s Academy in Madaba, Jordan, not far from the country’s capital, Amman. He loves it. “Everything about teaching has been wonderful for me so far,” he says. “I like that it’s challenging. It’s difficult. I’m always being pushed to teach better, to teach more.” But why did he choose Jordan? An interest in the Middle East and Arabic language piqued in college made Jordan an obvious choice, and the move across the globe has paid off. “The students I work with are really inspirational,” Procknow says. “Hearing their stories, hearing what they want to do and seeing what can get them to improve more is a
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