Behind every face lies a deeper story. Mr. Beber’s poster-filled walls and unruly desk littered with gifts from past students provide a warm welcome to every student who steps into his classroom. On first impression, he may seem as just the friendly, well liked and perhaps coy math teacher on Eye Street. His full story, however, reveals a much more fascinating, unexpected side.
Mr. Beber grew up in Orange County in California. He reflects on his childhood positively, thanks to a healthy home life, nice weather and close proximity to Disneyland. However, when it came to choosing a college, Mr. Beber decided to go east, opting for the University of South Carolina.
Mr. Beber spoke very highly of his time at USC. The school’s culture contrasted heavily with the Californian culture he grew up around. Thanks to college credits acquired in high school, Mr. Beber was able to double major in history and Spanish, two subjects he was truly passionate about.
However, Mr. Beber had no plans choosing a career out of college relating to his degree. Since childhood, his mind had already been set on becoming a police officer. The abundance of law enforcement’s positive influence in Mr. Beber’s life instilled in him a passion for policing. Some of his earliest memories involve the local chief of police visiting the public library for storytime.
“I knew I wanted a degree. I just didn’t really care what it was because I knew I wanted to go into law enforcement. I didn’t want to study criminal justice because if law enforcement doesn’t work out there’s not much else I could do with my degree,” Mr. Beber said.
After college, Mr. Beber immediately landed a full time policing job with a nearby county to USC. He spent a total of four and half years at this department and never regretted his decision.
“I enjoyed it a lot. It was great. I enjoyed being able to do my job and help people. In the country, it was a little more rural, and the people were very positive towards the police down there,” Mr. Beber said.
His time as an officer ended when a new elected official of the sheriff’s office came into power. Mr. Beber couldn’t bring himself to accept the new man as his boss.
“I didn’t believe in what they believed in, and I didn’t want to work under someone that I didn’t want to follow. A job isn’t worth it if you are not happy there,” Mr. Beber said.
After ending his tenure policing, he set his sights on Washington, D.C., a city where he had always wanted to live. Teaching had always been another career Mr. Beber considered. He landed his first teaching job at the LAB School of Washington. Eventually, Mr. Beber moved schools to Gonzaga, finally discovering the right place to settle down. He quickly became one of the most well liked and respected teachers among both students and faculty.
“He’s a great teacher, very smart man. He gives his students as many chances as they would like to fail or succeed. You learn a lot in his class,” said Mr. Kevin Tarpey, math teacher.
Along with teaching, Mr. Beber is an administrator at night for an English language learning school in Arlington, Va. His school aids foreigners desiring to create opportunities for themselves through learning English.
“[The school is] mostly students from foreign countries who come here on student visas to learn English, so they can either go home and have that advantage or transition into a university,” Mr. Beber said.
He finds great joy in being able to offer foreigners such a priceless education.
Amidst such a busy schedule, Mr. Beber still maintains further aspirations. He hopes to eventually lessen his schedule to clear up more free time and pursue his plans of traveling across the world.