EDITOR’S NOTE: When I Was 17 is an ongoing series where we interview LHS staff about the days when they were in High School.
Charles Rooney is one of our math teachers at Leominster High School. He currently teaches Algebra II and AP Calculus.
He also used to teach AP Statistics, and way before this, he was a high school student at Leominster High School.
A graduate of the class of 1998, Rooney shared about his life when he was 17, and his view on LHS then and now.
At 17 he described himself as friendly. He loved meeting new people, “I loved meeting new people and creating relationships.”
He was pretty involved in school activities, he played golf for all his four years at LHS, he also played soccer and did track. He was also very active with the Student Council, and he also helped with planning the Winter Carnival.
“I remember as a senior, I helped organize the Winter Carnival. Mr. Joseph was Student Council President at the time. That was a great experience.”
Rooney revealed that he grew up loving math. During his school years, he also took some AP courses, AP Biology and AP Calculus that he now teaches.
“I always felt like math was a game or puzzle that I needed to solve,” Rooney said. “I loved the challenge of coming up with solutions to the problems that were presented.”
Rooney also enjoyed other subjects, not just math. He also loved his home economics class and he really loved art. He loved art so much that he almost became an art teacher.
“Other than math, I enjoyed the art classes at LHS. One thing people might not know about me is that I almost went to school for Art to become an Art teacher. I also loved my home economic classes. I love to cook.”
His very first car was a raspberry-colored Dodge Shadow, which he loved, and he also had a part time job during high school.
“I worked at Wyman’s Redemption Center, which is located downtown Leominster,” said Rooney. “Before that, I was a dishwasher and line cook at a local breakfast place called Welcome Back. That was a great first job.”
Rooney said that there are many similarities between when he was in LHS as a student and now, such as Homecoming, Winter Carnival, and the Thanksgiving Rally.
But he also states that there are many differences as well.
“When I was in high school, I took keyboarding, a typing class, home economics, a cooking and sewing class, and technical drawing, which was Architecture.” He added, “The Barn Lot actually had a barn for the animal science classes.”
But one huge difference he now sees is students using their lockers. He used to use his lockers multiple times a day.
“One big difference between when I was in high school and now is the number of students who utilized their lockers. Today’s students don’t use their assigned lockers. I remember stopping by mine every two to three periods, so I didn’t have to carry all my materials.”
He also shared his thoughts on the use and the presence of technology at LHS when he was 17 and now, as a teacher.
“Now, every student has a Chromebook. In the 90s, there were select classrooms with computer labs because those classes needed the internet or specific software. Obviously, cell phones weren’t around when I was in high school, but we could take a quarter and use the pay phones that were located at the main and flagpole entrances.”
He concluded the interview by sharing his feelings on working at the same high school he has attended as a student.
“I truly enjoy teaching at Leominster High School,” said Rooney. “At first, it was interesting to become colleagues with teachers I had. Now, after 23 years of teaching, I am becoming colleagues with former students.”
