Have you been seeing unfamiliar faces around school? Then you’d be right, this year SHS has gained some new teachers in the staff. Mr. Hecker would be one of them. He is the new freshman history teacher on the white team. This will be his seventh year teaching, and his first year at SHS. 

Mr. Hecker is originally from Kansas but spent his last several years teaching in Arizona at Lake Havasu High School. He earned his teaching degree through Kansas State University in 2015 and his masters in Global History through Arizona State University in 2020.

“I was interested in moving home and I knew that Seaman was a good school, so it was high on my list of possible schools,” says Hecker. 

Mr. Hecker says he chose to teach history because he really loves the subject and wants to share it with his students. Hecker states, “If I could do that and make a difference in the lives of kids then it was worth it.”

Ever since his return to Topeka, Hecker and his wife have enjoyed walking the trails at Lake Shawnee. Outside of Topeka, they have created the goal to visit all of the 63 National Parks. So far they have visited 20 of them. “While every National Park has been beautiful to see in its own way, Grand Teton in Wyoming is my favorite. The mountains there are just too majestic to not love,” he says.

SHS is thrilled to have our new members to the staff, as well as to learn more and more about them as the school year progresses.