Gary Brazel:
CLASS OF 1969
Monroe High SchoolClass of 1969
Bronx, NY
Gary's Story
I graduated Monroe with a scholarship to Pace College which I lost due to only maintaining a C average (and maybe also because I grew a beard and long hair). Then went to CCNY. I messed up in college- I definitely should have worked harder. 1975- went away for the summer to Europe, but wound up spending 18 months there and in North Africa. Finished CCNY with an [Physical] Anthropology major- I had been a Biology major before, but repeatedly didn't get through Organic Chemistry. Then Trip 2: 9 months in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh. Both of these trips were cut short due to illness in my family.
Came home and was in a program to get NYC science & math teachers [12 credits in Education in 4 weeks] and then I was a high school science teacher. After 2 years of teaching, I went on Trip 3:1980-1981 Hawaii, Raratonga Cook Islands; from there I crewed a yacht to Niue and Fiji; then NZ, Australia, Sumatra, Bali, Java, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, My...Expand for more
anmar [Burma], China, Japan, Korea. 23 great months. Came back and taught again (and still am). No more big trips (although I'm probably the only NYC teacher to hike the whole Appalachian Trail [2,100+ miles] for a sabbatical- back when they allowed travel sabbaticals)- just summer trips.
I have now taught for a total of more than 31 years [man those years went quick, unlike the travel years]. The past 25 years have been at New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn where I teach Environmental Science [I'm very much an environmentalist]. I'm also into the outdoors. New Utrecht was like being back at Monroe since the same blueprints were used for them
I live in Brooklyn, have been married almost 23 years to a midwife and nutritionist. We have 2 sons [one is 21 & a senior at Colby College in Maine; the other 17 who will start in Sept. at SUNY Potsdam].
That's the basic story of my life [so far]. I think I'll probably retire in August, 2012, so I guess a new chapter will begin.
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