After about 30 years of teaching at Penn-Trafford High School, Dan Edgerly, a social studies teacher, will retire on Feb. 2. During his P-T teaching career, he has taught various classes, including Current Events, Honors US History, Reel to Real and America in Conflict.
Edgerly was born and raised in New York, having attended the University of South Carolina and Indiana University of Pennsylvania to obtain his degrees in History and Education. He said his decision to become a teacher stemmed from the time he spent in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I saw such a large number of people coming into the Marine Corps,” he stated. “I heard [their] complaints about their high school experiences, that they didn’t care for it… So I decided to be a teacher, though I had no prior desire or thought.”
His retirement plans include traveling and spending time with his grandsons. Something else he is looking forward to is “not driving an hour to an hour and a half to work every day.” Joshua Bujakowski will take over full-time for Edgerly following his final day.
Edgerly stated that what he will miss the most about his job at P-T are the students and the daily interactions with them. He said that his most memorable moment as a teacher is “the many and great relationships with students and their families.”
He has received invites to previous students’ weddings, parties and birth announcements as well as acquiring their phone calls, emails and texts. Students have reached out to him beyond their high school years.
“That to me is extremely meaningful and rewarding,” he said.
Abby Dreistadt, Editor in Chief