The “Super-Awesome Half-Pirate”
A Profile of Mr. Egan
NEIRAD enilno edition
- Hometown: Highland, NY (Currently living in Stamford)
- Education: UCONN, Storrs, B.S. Social Studies Ed.; M.A. Curriculum and Instruction
- Family: Parents: Barbara (“Edith”) and Charlie, Two Married Sisters- Sara Davis (Pregnant), Heather Welch
- Favorite Part of Job: Learning from the students and being able to stay as a kid my whole life.
- Favorite Food: I eat pretty much anything. A rule in the history dept. is that before anyone can throw out the rest of their lunch, they have to offer it to me first. I usually accept.
- Favorite Sports Team: NY Rangers, Jets, Mets (All heartbreaking teams) and anything UCONN Huskies
- Loves: Katie "my special lady friend"
In the hallways in DHS, you can find countless smiling students, faculty, and teachers. However, you cannot find a more likeable teacher than Mr. Patrick Egan, the World and American History teacher. “Mr. Egan is super-awesome” says junior Jack Bosha. But not only is Mr. Egan favored in the classroom, he’s also one of the most popular coaches in Blue Wave athletics.
Mr. Egan is the Assistant Coach of the freshman football team. He has held the job for two years and is devoted to it like no one else. Although the team is not the most successful, Mr. Egan loves the football experience anyway. He was both a quarterback and a cornerback from 5th grade to his senior year in high school and continues to have a passion for the positions. Unlike the average coach, he is hands-on and is always willing to break a sweat in order to teach the right way to cover a corner rout. Whether he is running a gasser (four nonstop 50 yard sprints) or intercepting a pass during a scrimmage, Mr. Egan is always in on the action.
Mr. Egan has worked at DHS three years now and loves almost every part of his job. “I have a lot of fun with my department” he said. “I love coming into work and learning a lot while having fun with students and teachers.” Out of the five students surveyed who have Mr. Egan this year, all five agree that he is their favorite teacher.
But a student doesn’t have to be in Mr. Egan’s class to fully appreciate him. Almost every freshman on the football team feels that Mr. Egan is one of the “most relaxed, funny, and likeable” coaches they have ever had. It is hard to understand however why Mr. Egan is so drawn to a team that has a 3-8 record. Asked why he likes the freshman, he responded “They are a very interesting group of kids. It is neat to see them in the transition from junior football to high school football.”
Mr. Egan is open not only with his players, but with his students. He will always give you a friendly “Hey Your Name Here” when you see him in the hallway. He is an active participant in the DHS campaign called “Novembeard”, in which students and faculty are urged to grow facial hair for the chilly month by fliers posted around the building.
If you are close enough to him, like Jack Bosha is, you would know that Mr Egan drives a 1995 red Oldsmobile Cutlass which he got from his brother-in-law after his 1998 Nissan Altima died last year. Before that it was another car Mr Egan remembers fondly: “While this [Oldsmobile] is a red car with character, in high school I drove around my Aunt Betty’s ’90 Geo Prism that while also being red, had a pink hood. So many more stories with that car,” he said. Oh, and a true-Egan aficionado also knows he plays hockey on Sunday nights, and where his girlfriend lives. (and we are not going to tell you if you don’t know the answer!)
Hopefully, Mr. Egan will be around for years to come, exposing people to his charm, humor, and intelligence. However, Mr. Egan will settle for one super-fan right now. “I like how when he grows his beard, it is red because of his fiery Irish heritage and the fact that he is a half-pirate” says Bosha.
