by Jake Kwon ’26
With a brand new start to the school year comes a brand new chapter for many individuals. One of these individuals is Mr. Liu, a graduate of Bellarmine’s Class of 2017, and now a teacher in the social science department. Known by Bellarmine students for his expertise in interpretive speech, Mr. Liu has returned to Bellarmine to teach the new class introduced to freshmen this year for the very first time, Ethnic Studies. He will also continue his role as a coach for the Speech and Debate program, this time in-person.
We decided to interview Mr. Liu this week regarding his experiences so far both as a student and as a teacher at Bellarmine, as well as some other activities he hopes to be a part of.
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Q: Welcome back to Bellarmine! How does it feel to return?
A: It feels surreal, it almost feels like I never left, I think part of that is just because of how involved I have been with speech and debate in the past 6 years. I came in as a coach in the fall of 2017, so I was still really connected to the community, and I am still connected to all the students here, particularly those on the debate team. Now I’m back in person and on campus, which is great.
Q: What will your role be at Bellarmine?
A: I think I’ll be focusing on two major things. First, as a first-year teacher teaching ethnic studies, this will be something completely new and exciting for me, but I know that I will improve. For example, yesterday Mr. Medeiros sat in one of my classes and gave me really good feedback, and so it’s sort of like implementing that feedback and really being the best teacher I can be. I am here for the kids and I want them to learn to enjoy the study of ethnic studies, so I think it’s important to step into that role fully and intentionally as a teacher. The second role for the most part will be coaching speech and debate, and working everything there. I am a huge person at tournaments, as I run most of them for league and travel, so that will be a huge part of my life. If I have time, especially in the spring, I would love to help with the swim team, even if it just means officiating home meets, time trials and whatnot, but that was also a huge part of my career at Bellarmine. I’m just finding ways I can just give back.
Q: Will your Interp role change in any way?
A: I think for the most part, it will largely be the same, however I do think it will be good because I will physically be here to coach everyone. I think it was one thing to do things online over zoom, but it is another thing to be in person and to do things in person; I think it’s a good idea.
Q: What made you come back to Bellarmine? What was the main reason?
A: I think the main reason is because it felt very natural after coaching after 6 years that I would find myself back here, I’ve been so connected to this community, and I have been wanting to become a teacher. For example when I was a kid, I would play school, line up my stuffed animals and teach them about a concept from a discarded textbook. For me, it just felt very natural coming back. It felt very good sort of being like, Hey, I am now going to be helping out in teaching and being here in person, and it just felt very good and natural for me to transition from that coaching role to a full-time teaching role.
Q: You will be the new ethnic studies teacher, could you explain what the class is like to sophomores, juniors, and seniors?
A: This is the first time ethnic studies is being taught at Bellarmine, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a state requirement in either 2026 or 2027. This class is all about the study of differences, how differences like race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender, all of that interact with each other to create your personal identity. We are also going to study how your identity is reacted to by other parties, for example civil society, the state, and other persons. One good example I like to use is during the Jim Crow segregation era, states passed laws that legalize segregation, forcing black individuals to sit at the back of the bus, use separate drinking fountains, and so on and so forth. That is an example of race forming someone’s identity, and the state then reacting to that identity and passing laws that restricted black Americans from being able to vote, so on and so forth. Conversely, during the civil rights era, there was resistance, the identity of being black, people of other ethnicities and races reacting to that state power. It was a sort of cycle and interconnectedness between someone’s identity and how it reacts to something else.
Q: Are there any other classes that you want to teach or that you are interested in?
A: So funny thing, I would love to teach a senior elective. I know we have AP Government and that more so focused on the United States, but it would be awesome if I could teach AP Comparative Politics or AP Comp Gov, which would be looking at a more international stage. I think it was offered at Bellarmine way back, but I don’t think they have offered it since.
Q: What were your favorite memories at Bellarmine?
A: There is still one that stands out to me in my senior year, for the national qualifiers for speech and debate. I made the final round, and I did not feel good about our duo final round, so I knew I had to give it my all in my DI. We were waiting for awards, it was the top 6, and it was like in 6th place and 3rd alternate, so when I heard that the first alternate was not me, there was this like huge sigh of relief, as if I finally made it, and I still remember there is a picture in the yearbook back from 2017 of me just gasping and hands over my mouth. I think that was one of my fondest memories at Bellarmine. A bunch of other memories include Mr. McCrystle’s AP European History class, where he would play music in class, and that was how I fell in love with classical music. I think that all of the classes I took at Bellarmine affected my life positively in some way, shape or form.
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This concludes our interview with Mr. Liu! From being a Bellarmine student to a Coach and now as a full time teacher, Mr. Liu’s journey embodies the phrase “Once a Bell, Always a Bell” quite flawlessly. We at the Bell Online are excited for Mr. Liu’s role as a teacher at BCP and where this will take him next!
Jake Kwon is the Academics Editor for the Bell Online. He enjoys playing soccer with friends and covering events on campus.