For new OVS chemistry teacher Owen Driscoll, it’s like coming home.
Born and raised until age six in Ojai, Mr. Driscoll moved around a lot as a child. After graduating college and assisting in chemistry classes, Mr. Driscoll was offered a job this summer teaching chemistry at the Upper Campus of Ojai Valley School and is thrilled to return to a place that has been so meaningful to him.
“The closest thing I have to a place that feels like home is Ojai,” Mr. Driscoll said.
Mr. Driscoll attended Thacher School for high school and found his passion for chemistry, leading him to Columbia University where he majored in environmental chemistry.
However, chemistry didn’t always come easy to Mr. Driscoll. He said he floated through the course in high school not applying himself and putting in much effort.
His teacher noticed this and pulled him aside, telling him he could be doing a lot better and he needed to apply himself more.
For Mr. Driscoll this was a major turning point as he began to apply himself. He took AP chemistry and post-AP chem water resource seminars, and discovered a passion for environmental chemistry.
After graduating from Columbia he was a teacher’s assistant in chemistry classes.
His passion for chemistry led him back to Ojai Valley School where he was offered a job teaching chemistry, AP Chemistry and being a dorm parent.
“I’ve always loved Ojai but never envisioned myself coming back so soon,” says Mr. Driscoll
Mr. Driscoll is a dorm parent and he appreciates being able to connect with students outside of the classroom.
“One thing that I really appreciate is that in most schools it is very easy to only see a student in your classroom and that gives you a limited lens on who that student is as a person, learner, and human being,” Mr. Driscoll said. “Being in the dorm is a way to see these students in a different environment than you ordinarily would.”
Mr. Driscoll greatly appreciates his chemistry teacher for inspiring him and helping him discover his passion for chemistry, and he hopes to inspire students in the same way.
“That’s why I got into education the realization that if I had a different chem teacher I would have never come to that realization,” he said.
Sophomore chemistry student Mieke Wells said she has had trouble understanding science in the past, but is content and confident she will succeed in chemistry this year with Mr. Driscoll’s help.
“As someone who has struggled a lot in the science department in the past, I appreciate him a lot,” Mieke said. “He has helped me truly understand science more.”
Mr. Driscoll is still settling into this new environment, but thanks the community for welcoming him
“Everyone has been incredibly kind and thoughtful and just so helpful,” Mr. Driscoll said. “It’s been very nice.”