Teacher Interviews
By Kyle Ashby and Mason Andrews
Mr. Opal, Sci-fi Fanatic
To many, Mr. Opal is known as just your average English teacher (if not a little eccentric). But to those that have had his Sci-Fi class, he is known as an avid fan of Science Fiction. We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Opal about this hobby of his, and through it we learned many things about him that very few of his students would know.
would know.
During the interview, we learned that Mr. Opal’s passion for Science Fiction goes beyond the classroom. He claims that he has attended multiple Sci-Fi conventions, including Comic-Con, Star-Fest, and multiple Star Wars Celebrations. Having traveled across the states to visit these different festivals and conferences, Opal says that they all have a lot of fun energy to them and that they all are a good experience for people who are interested in these types of fandoms. The Star Wars festivals themselves were to celebrate the release of some of the movies, while the Comic-cons where just a place that people got to see an overwhelming amount of interesting and nerdy stuff.
We asked Mr. Opal about when his interest in Science Fiction began, to which he responded, “An interest in science-fiction is something I just grew up with, I was surrounded by it as a child, and when I was young, I would go home after school to watch Doctor Who on the T.V. on the PBS channel.” He says, “My older siblings also had a huge passion for science fiction, which was pushed onto me at a young age, and I quickly fell in love with it.”
When we inquired as to what his favorite franchise was, it was no surprise when he answered with Doctor Who. He said although he had a huge passion for both Star Wars and Star Trek, his passion for Doctor Who began for him at a very young age, which brings nostalgia to the franchise for him. We also inquired about his favorite novel, which he said was, The Canticle for Leibowitz, which he read in grade school. The book has a very dark and apocalyptic theme to it, which he said interested him so much because of the warnings it portrayed about our society.
a lot of fun energy to them and that they all are a good experience for people who are interested in these types of fandoms. The Star Wars festivals themselves were to celebrate the release of some of the movies, while the Comic-cons where just a place that people got to see an overwhelming amount of interesting and nerdy stuff.
We asked Mr. Opal about when his interest in Science Fiction began, to which he responded, “An interest in science-fiction is something I just grew up with, I was surrounded by it as a child, and when I was young, I would go home after school to watch Doctor Who on the T.V. on the PBS channel.” He says, “My older siblings also had a huge passion for science fiction, which was pushed onto me at a young age, and I quickly fell in love with it.”
When we inquired as to what his favorite franchise was, it was no surprise when he answered with Doctor Who. He said although he had a huge passion for both Star Wars and Star Trek, his passion for Doctor Who began for him at a very young age, which brings nostalgia to the franchise for him. We also inquired about his favorite novel, which he said was, The Canticle for Leibowitz, which he read in grade school. The book has a very dark and apocalyptic theme to it, which he said interested him so much because of the warnings it portrayed about our society.