Mount Greylock has many new faces this year, with new staff in a number of departments. One newcomer to the math department is Thomas McCormack. He teaches Algebra 1, Honors Pre Calculus, AP Calculus and Personal Finance.
McCormack replaces the school’s former Calculus teacher and basketball coach Robert Thistle, who left Mount Greylock last spring.
Although this is McCormack’s first year at Mount Greylock, it is not his first time teaching. In fact, it isn’t even his first time teaching in the Berkshires. For the last 19 years, McCormack taught at Lee Middle and High School. Although he doesn’t coach like Thistle did, he does bring a unique teaching weapon: his background in finance.
Before teaching, McCormack worked on Wall Street, something he said he “was not passionate about.” The morals behind his job there didn’t align with his own, he said, and he felt like he “was doing some work for rich people that allowed [them] to get richer.” Through his time at the job, however, he did find one positive. There, he learned that he “loved talking to people and educating them,” McCormack said.
After leaving the finance industry, he moved to Lexington, Massachusetts. Eventually, he moved to the Berkshires and began teaching at Lee. He then started teaching at Mount Greylock this year, and said he has had an amazing experience, “connecting with the kids” and connecting his students to math.
Although his life hasn’t gone as planned, McCormack has found something he loves: teaching. “I love it, and I hope that each one of my students can find something similar,” he said.
