Mr. Anderson- One of SHS's newest faculty

 Getting to Know Sparta's Newest Teacher: Mr. Anderson

By Kelly Groome

For the 2022 school year, Sparta High School welcomes the new marketing teacher, Mr. Anderson. Anderson will fill the position vacated by Mr. Mefford last year, taking on the Marketing and Management course, Marketing Applications course, and Advanced Marketing courses. Below is an interview with Anderson conducted on 9/29. He tells of his experience within the marketing field, his aspirations for the DECA chapter, and more!

Interviewer:

What is your background experience within the marketing field?

"I traditionally was in the banking sector in mortgages and eventually into commercial banking. Following that, I worked odd jobs just to put food on the table. I worked for Centenary University getting my MBA, helping in their marketing department and tutoring students."

Anderson continued by mentioning that he also helped his brother-in-law with his paving business. While physically assisting him with paving driveways, he was simultaneously working on marketing the business, getting it to flourish in the Vernon area. Following this job, he became a marketing teacher at the Sussex County Technical school for 11 years. Overall, Anderson has had sixteen years of experience within the marketing field. 

Interviewer:

What attracted you to a position at Sparta?

"What ultimately attracted me to this particular position at Sparta was when my family and I moved from Vernon to Sparta. We were looking for a better opportunity for our kids to be in a school district we believed in, that had the vision for growth and were investing in their programs."

Anderson further said that Sparta had a "sense of community" that he believed was lacking in his former town of Vernon. 

"I couldn't think of a better place to be a part of when the teaching opportunity came about than to be in the very district my kids were in and in a teaching capacity."

Interviewer: 

How has your experience been at Sparta so far?

"The experience has been exciting, exhilarating, and different. It's a much larger school district than where I came from."

He mentioned that he's still "getting the lay of the land” considering the expansive size of Sparta High School’s student body. 

With a total student population of over 1,000 students, Sparta High School is significantly more populated than Sussex County Technical school, which consists of a little over 700 students.

"It's a little overwhelming right out of the gate but I'm up for the challenge and to make my mark on the school and do right by my students."

Interviewer: 

Are you going to be involved in the DECA program this year?

"Yes, when it comes to the DECA program, I would love to be as involved as I possibly can be as long as my schedule permits. Whether that be going on field trips, helping the students prepare for the different DECA competitions, role plays, testing they have to take, different online simulations out there, or the fundraising DECA does, I want to try to be as involved as I possibly can. I didn't have DECA at my previous school, and I know that this school prides itself on the DECA program, and I would like to see it continue to flourish." 

Interviewer: 

What do you like to do in your spare time when you're not here teaching?

"When I'm not here teaching at Sparta, my life is pretty occupied. It revolves around my children. I have four children of my own, a twelve-year-old, a ten-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a one-year-old baby. I'm spread pretty thin after school with taking my kids to their different activities and if I'm not coaching one of my kid's sports, I like to do the announcing for the Sparta Football team and announce for the Lake Mohawk Swim Team. In addition, I podcast as a hobby so I'm well prepared to be the announcer for the swim team and football team.”

Editor's Note: Thank you to Mr. Anderson for participating in this interview! We look forward to seeing all that he has to offer for Sparta High School's marketing department.