Mr. Seebode is one of the most beloved teachers at Oratory. Everyone knows him for his middle school and Bio II classes, his passion for running, and his love for marine biology. However, I believe many more would be interested in delving deeper into Mr. Seebodes’s journey to becoming a great teacher and coach, as well as learning about his thoughts on Oratory and his current position as a whole. On Thursday afternoon, I was able to sit down with Mr. Seebode and ask him a few questions. Even though we have known each other since I was just a middle schooler, I still learned some new and interesting things about Mr. Seebode. We talked about the past, present, and even possible plans for the future.
Mr. Seebode has been teaching at OP for about 7 years. He started in the summer of 2018 which was just one year before my class came into Oratory as seventh graders. Although teaching was a new experience for him, the thought of helping out students drove Mr. Seebode to continue teaching. I asked him about his life before he came to Oratory Prep. His previous job was teaching at a school called Lowell Catholic, in Massachusetts. He taught there for two years and it was a part of his master’s degree program at Providence College. Before that, Seebode worked at three different nature centers. These included one with sea turtles in North Carolina, one in Stone Harbor NJ working in the wetlands, and one at Penn State University working with the eagles, owls, and the hawks. Mr. Seebode stated, “I really enjoyed working with the animals and in nature every day, but I realized that I did not really like the research aspect of it.” This helped him to realize that he enjoyed the “people aspect” of it but not the research and data part. Furthermore, as part of an internship, Mr. Seebode was placed in the role of teaching a group of fifth graders. He had to prepare lessons and teach them which was a bit challenging at first. He said “The first day was pretty rough, but by the end, I felt like I had started to figure them out…I figured out how to work with each kid…then they left and I got a new group…it made me think that this can be pretty cool”. His various jobs and roles opened his eyes to the possibility of teaching and he happily started there.
Next, I asked Mr. Seebode what motivates him as a teacher and as a coach. He stated that watching and developing the personal relationships with every kid through the years is his biggest motivator. This is especially true with the track and cross-country athletes. “Seeing them accomplish something such as getting into the college they wanted or achieve a personal record time is really exciting and can spark something in them that they may have not even known they had”. When asked about if there is a difference between being a coach and a teacher, Mr. Seebode thinks that there are some similarities but it is mostly different. He feels that it is so rewarding to see the emotion come out when a goal is accomplished. “You don’t see. The same reaction when someone wins something or accomplishes something there’s so much excitement and passion it is not the same as getting a good grade on a test”. The passion that he is able to teach to the athletes makes a difference between the classroom and the rubber.
I also was able to ask Mr. Seebode some fun questions. When asked, “If you were stranded on a desert island, what one item would you bring with you?” He initially said that he would bring a snorkel so he would be able to explore the waters around him. However, after some consideration, he decided that Music would be the thing that he could not go without. “Music is something that I always listen to, at the end of the year my Spotify wrapped is always like 70,000+ minutes.” His top artist is Noah Kahan and Mr. Seebode was able to see him in concert this past summer. I also had to ask who his favorite colleague was at Oratory. I did put him on the spot, however, he said that Mrs. Pasnik (who was in the room when I interviewed him lol) is his favorite. “We have been coworkers from the start and we collaborate on many things together. Coming from another school is not always the place where someone is able to help you as a teacher. Mrs. Pasnik was always willing to help me at the beginning with materials and getting used to the new environment”.
As for Mr. Seebodes’ future at Oratory, he wishes to see the track and cross-country teams grow and develop to overcome their toughest goals. This includes beating Westfield and Union Catholic for the County Championship. He said that he wanted to make sure the guys all find success and joy in running down the line.
Hopefully, Mr. Seebode’s time at Oratory continues on for as long as he wishes, and that eventually he and his team accomplish their goals. If you are new to oratory and do not know Mr. Seebode very well, or even if you are a Lifer such as myself, I hope that you are able to learn a few new things about his personality and the great teacher and coach that he is.