Mr. Noga is our newest addition to the St. Edward teaching staff; he is teaching freshman and sophomore English. We will be getting to know Mr. Noga in his way: fun and educational. Let’s embark on this adventure from his early adulthood and what shaped him into the great teacher we now have at St. Edward.
Mr. Noga graduated from Elk Grove High School and set his college journey off to the University of Chicago. He majored in English, which was his favorite subject ever since he was young. He made this known by exclaiming, “As a kid, I was always a big reader and a movie nerd. I used to write stories and, in elementary school, I made a comic strip that I used to pass out to kids just because I loved reading and writing so much.” After UIC, he went to DePaul University where he got his master’s degree in English that he now uses to teach our beloved students. Mr. Noga bounced around from tutoring to being a long-term sub at Burlington Central teaching English to freshmen and sophomores before coming to St. Edward.
Mr. Noga has many hobbies including video gaming and reading – he believes both provide an escape from reality to get out of your mental health and take a break once in a while. But his favorite hobby is playing pinball; he states that “Once or twice a month, I like going to pinball tournaments with some of my friends.” He always loved pinball ever since he was young. His childhood friend had a couple pinball machines, and he loved playing them because he says he does way better with controlled chaos.
Mr. Noga has a phrase hanging up in his classroom that stuck with me when I first saw it and makes perfect sense after meeting with him. The sign reads, “Stay weird”. Mr. Noga is a perfect addition to our lovely staff here at St. Edward; he is fitting perfectly right into our English department. He is super kind and wants the best for his students. But the most important reason why he fits in is because he’s not your typical guy; he’s a nerd and I mean that in the nicest possible way! St. Edward is weird and nerdy, that’s what makes our school special, so I am going to end this off with his saying, stay weird, St. Edward!
