This year, Bellarmine welcomed several recent alumni to its large faculty of volunteers and teachers. One such teacher is UC Berkeley graduate, Matt DeLateur. Mr. DeLateur was a successful Lincoln Douglas debater for the Bellarmine Speech and Debate team in addition to being named the Salutatorian of his class. Today, Mr. DeLateur walks the same campus, except this time as a teacher. He teaches the sophomore English 2 class and also coaches speech and debate.

Although Mr. DeLateur was enrolled as a student here just four years ago, a lot has changed at Bellarmine since then. He notes that the greatest change is “the reliance on Surfaces and Canvas.” He said, “In my day, electronics were scattered but today they are streamlined for an effective use of resources.” Since Mr. DeLateur was a high school student, Bellarmine’s reliance on technology has grown exponentially. To name just a few examples, iPads, Canvas, and Surfaces are devices that now have an integral role in Bellarmine productivity. Furthermore, Mr. DeLateur says, “I can only speak for myself, but the technology has had a positive effect on my classroom.”

Mr. DeLateur notes that in addition to Bellarmine, he too has changed during the past four years while at UC Berkeley. He states that one thing he wishes he could have told his high school self was, “Be open to everything and attached to nothing.” Therefore, one of the greatest lessons he learned in college is, in his own words, “If you bring your personality to everything that you do, you will find fulfillment and joy.” Mr. DeLateur says that he has found this fulfillment in teaching as it “attracts those who are interested in the life of the mind.”

Mr. DeLateur was inspired to teach through his connections to other teachers. “Teachers inspired me to be a teacher. Rather, the entire institution of teaching inspired me,” he said. He believes that “every student knows you learn something different from every teacher, whether it be academic or not.” He has learned a lot since his days in high school, but Mr. DeLateur has a completely new journey ahead of him. He says that his greatest hope for his new career is “that I can engender in my students a curiosity for learning and an existential commitment to the truth.”

These values of learning and truth shone through his career as a student and will now shine through as a teacher. Mr. DeLateur remains a part of the Bellarmine community, but he is no longer running to class, waiting in long lunch lines, doing homework during break, or going to mixers. Today, he plays an important role in the education and growth of those in the position he is well familiar with. He is a teacher ready to begin a new chapter at Bellarmine.