Located in B-18, what used to be a science class, is now a history class taught by Kealakekua Moa, a new teacher at Middle College High School (MCHS). Quite passionate about teaching, Moa is excited to continue inspiring students in his new classroom.
Before coming to MCHS, Moa previously taught at McFadden Institute of Technology and Whittier Union High School District in Whittier, California. He has experience in teaching at both intermediate schools and high schools. This school year, Moa is teaching the subject World Civilization to sophomores. Although Moa is quite passionate about being a teacher, it wasn’t his first choice.
“I actually wanted to be a National Geographic photographer…but my dad was not very supportive of that, he wanted me to be an engineer,” Moa said.
Moa decided to go to school for engineering, but he wasn’t enjoying it. He wasn’t doing well in Calculus, which led him to change his major.
“And then I was like, you know what? I’m going to change my major to something that I enjoyed. It became history after some self reflecting,” Moa said.
Once he decided to major in history, Moa wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to make a living out of it. He spent time researching online and discovered the option of becoming a history teacher.
He wasn’t interested in becoming a high school teacher at first because he disliked high school when he was younger. However, with the help of a former high school teacher, Moa experienced something that played a direct role in starting his career as a teacher.
“She was my freshman/sophomore history teacher, and then she nominated me to be a tutor for high risk children that were about to drop out of school, and I loved it,” Moa said.
This shaped his path and led him to be the teacher that most know of today at school. Outside of school, Moa is still a very energetic and extroverted person. He has quite a few hobbies that he enjoys.
“I love playing ‘Magic: The Gathering’ because I’m a huge nerd. Anything, ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘Star Wars,’ like, I’ll nerd out and talk about for hours. And then, like I said earlier, rock climbing is one of my really, favorite physical joys to do,” Moa said.
Though some students may not have had Moa as their teacher, he has valuable advice for all MCHS students.
“No one can define your success. However, if you don’t take action to take control of your life, someone will make those decisions for you. So, always, strive to reach for the skies, and if you fail, it’s okay, because you’re gonna grab higher than if you chose not to. And don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something because you can’t. The only person that is going to stop you is you,” Moa said.
