Most of us know Mr. Rowan, the camouflage-wearing, joke-slinging, environment-loving science teacher who resides in room 803. What most of us do not know is that not only is Mr. Rowan is a fan of  “80s teen movies,” but that he has also had quite an adventure in education prior to teaching at Bishop. Mr. Rowan’s story of change and hard work throughout his post-secondary education might just help inspire any highschoolers out there worried about colleges or frightened about committing to a major they are not yet certain about.

Contrary to what might be assumed, Mr. Rowan did not have an interest in science until his freshman year of college at San Jose State. Mr. Rowan began his college career with the goal of becoming an aerospace engineer. But a year and a half later, he “switched majors to zoology.” His new plan was to attend Humboldt State, because, as he announced, “San Jose was too big of a city.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Rowan missed the deadline to apply to Humboldt. He spent a semester at Stanislaus, but finally transferred to Humboldt, where he once again changed his major to fisheries biology. Mr. Rowan received his Bachelor of Science after spending three years at Humboldt, where he took study breaks by “[repelling] down into [the Smith River]” from bridges.

The next step in Mr. Rowan’s academic adventure was to attend graduate school in New Mexico. He earned his master’s degree in wildlife biology with a minor in experimental statistics after two years. But his journey was not over just yet!

Mr. Rowan then attended Utah State to get his PhD in aquatic ecology. Mr. Rowan spent three years at Utah State, and completed most of his credentials, but at the last minute – get this – he unpredictably changed his mind. He switched to biology, and decided to get his teaching credential. After getting his Bachelor of Science in biology, Mr. Rowan knew he had always wanted to be a teacher, “but didn’t know if he wanted to teach at the high school or college level.”

The deciding factor for Mr. Rowan: “college kids are boring, they go to school everyday and listen.” And thus, Mr. Rowan became a high school teacher!

Mr. Rowan’s post-secondary schooling also opened up many opportunities and allowed him to work “for different state, federal, and private nonprofit agencies” in many different states, such as “Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Alaska, and Wyoming.”

There is no doubt that Mr. Rowan’s journey was difficult. But all that hard work paid off, and Mr. Rowan is extremely proud that he “[stuck] with [college] for so long” and now has “a job that [he loves] and that [he] can support [his] family with.”

For all of us out there grappling with the stress of the future, college, and the fear of inflexibility or a change in dream careers, Mr. Rowan’s story of perseverance can serve as inspiration.