Faculty Feature | Chris Conway

Name: Christopher (Chris) Conway
Current role & department: Upper School Faculty, Department of World Languages
Year started at Albany Academy: 2002
Alma mater and degree: Dartmouth College, AB; also did advanced/graduate work at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia; the Casa de la Cultura in Puebla, Mexico, and Stanford University

What inspired you to become a teacher?

"Throughout my academic life I was fortunate to have mostly outstanding, and in a few cases, world-class, teachers. All of them have been inspirations in different ways. "

What strategies do you use to spark student engagement and creativity in your classroom?

"There are a number of practical things I do to encourage engagement and creativity, but I’ve found that the most consequential strategies for connecting with and motivating students exist at a deeper level. One ongoing goal I have is to empathize with students by trying to remember what it’s like not to know something. I think this is critically important, but often much harder for us teachers than we care to admit, because we’ve become so used to knowing a lot about our respective subjects."

Is there a particular lesson or project that you especially love to teach? 

"The unit on Population and Migration in AP Human Geography. For much of my adult life I’ve worked either as a professional or volunteer with immigrants and refugees, so I bring to the these lessons not only theoretical knowledge, but also a lot of real-world cases and stories of people I’ve known personally."

Favorite book or movie? 

Book:

• "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. Not exactly a page-turner, but an important work that has had a lasting impact on both the natural and social sciences."

Movie:

• "Apollo 13, probably because as a kid I was very interested in the space program and I remember this near-disaster very well. The event was dramatic in real time, and as details came out, it became clear that this was arguably the greatest rescue operation of all time."

How do you see students growing or evolving during their time at Academy?

"I’m always impressed by the personal and intellectual growth that students demonstrate over their high school years, especially my advisees. Some of this is just part of growing up, but I think Academy really does have an enormous positive impact with respect to preparing these young people for college and beyond."

What’s something you’re especially proud of in your career? 

"I’ve received a couple Faculty Enrichment grants, two Americanism awards and an Excellence in Teaching award. But I think the most meaningful aspect of my career has been the ten or so service-learning trips that I’ve led to Nicaragua. Even years later I have students who participated tell me that working side by side with local folks on critical water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects, and getting to know the reality of these small communities, was a life-changing experience."