Just over 40 years ago, history teacher Pat Grant walked into UPrep as a new member of the community. He felt that the environment was welcoming, cozy, and tight-knit. While working at UPrep, he saw the small temporary classrooms morph into bigger buildings, with more classrooms and space for hundreds more students. Grant has worked at UPrep for the longest amount of time out of any active teacher and will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
“When you’ve been here 40 years, it’s a long time to be teaching, so it’s been a big part of my life,” Grant said.
Grant told the administration a few months ago about his retirement plans and announced the news to his students and coworkers a few weeks ago. Many of Grant’s coworkers, like history teacher Aaron Sokoll, were surprised by Grant’s announcement, even though he has worked at UPrep for 40 years.
“I don’t know why, but I was convinced that he would be coming back next year,” Sokoll said. “I convinced myself that was the case, so I was very surprised, and I’m happy for him.”
Students like junior Max Gitenstein understand why Grant is retiring, but still express that it was unexpected.
“I was a little surprised, just because he’s been at UPrep for so long,” Gitenstein said. “But, he’s been here for so long, it kind of makes sense that he is retiring now. I find him engaging and he makes the material accessible, which I like, and I’ll definitely miss him when he retires.”
There are numerous reasons why Grant has been devoted to his craft and spent more than half of his life teaching.
“I have been dedicated to preserving democracy,” Grant said. “I’ve been dedicated to helping students understand what is important about our system and how it’s important for students to learn about it to be effective within our democracy.”
Grant has taught a wide variety of classes in the history department, like US history, civics and economics. In all his classes, Grant enjoys connecting with his students face-to-face.
“I think that the best part of my day is teaching my classes because I enjoy the conversations we have,” Grant said.
In the classroom, students like Gitenstein enjoy talking and connecting with Grant, and in the office, Sokoll also appreciates being around him and will miss him when he retires.
“It’s really nice to be around someone who just wants people to do well and is constantly concerned with their well-being,” Sokoll said. “I see that in him in every conversation we have.”
This is the end of a long chapter for Grant, and he has had a profound impact on the school; Grant, in his time at UPrep, has served as a history teacher, advisor, grade-level dean and multiple other vital roles in the community.
“There are so many things that happen around here that he is or was a part of,” Sokoll said. “I want everyone to remember what he has done for the community.”
As Grant’s retirement looms on the horizon, he emphasizes that he wants his last year to be the best it can be.
“I was convinced that I wanted my last year to be my best year, and I’m hoping that’s true,” Grant said. “I did not want to retire when I’m slowing down. So right now, I feel really good, and I wanted to retire on a good note.”
