Wildcat Spotlight: Sean Pritchard

Deep Run’s new AP Environmental Science teacher, Sean Pritchard, was formerly a scientist in the field of microgenetics and biology. When he worked in the field, he was a molecular geneticist and worked to help find solutions for cancer treatment.

   “I also worked to isolate and identify proteins to look at possible ways to look at kidney cancer early on, so I worked in kidney cancer. But if we were to come up with a detection, that’s what we were looking at,” Pritchard said. 

   Pritchard has enjoyed teaching AP classes here because the students are capable of working on their own and enjoy the topic. Before teaching here, Pritchard taught AP and IB biology at J.R. Tucker High School, where he said the courses and environment were similar to here. Previously, Pritchard got his masters degree while in Cleveland, Ohio, where he also worked as an intern teacher in the field of biology. 

   “My initial goal was to get a Ph.D. and get a job, teach at the university. But things got sidetracked, so I ended up getting a second masters, working in the lab for a few more years, and then became a teacher when we moved,” Pritchard said.

   As a hearing impaired teacher, Pritchard accommodates himself to be able to teach his students as best as he can. Pritchard constantly walks around the room, helping each group by going to their station, instead of students walking up to his desk for help. During the pandemic and virtual teaching year, Pritchard took some time away from teaching.

   “One of the reasons I didn’t teach during Covid is that we would have to be on the computers. I hate computers, and I knew that the mask thing was going to be an issue, but I did not think they were going to go virtual as long as they did,” Pritchard said.

   During the first week of school, Pritchard shocks his students by saying he despises the much beloved panda species due to his research as a scientist. 

   “I hate pandas. We spend so much money on this organism that eats the nutritional equivalent of celery, spends all day eating, will not reproduce, so we have to trick them into reproduction, and money is better spent on other organisms for biodiversity,” Pritchard said. 

   Mr. Pritchard has enjoyed his first months working here and appreciates the respect and work that his students have shown him.