Mr. Zeigler, CHS science teacher, didn’t begin his teaching career right away. As well as attending college, he served in the Marine Corps.
“I went to UNI,” Zeigler said. “I’ve taken courses at Berkeley, in San Francisco and a lot of different places. I received a masters in science in computers and education, and a physical science degree.”
Zeigler joined the Marine Corps, was located in Vietnam and performed a number of different tasks and jobs to ensure the safety of nearby villages.
“I was the civil affairs officer. We trained marines how to defend their villages,” Zeigler said. “It was a full program to make them feel safe, arm them and train them to protect themselves and the village. We introduced them to pigs and vegetables, and built a school.”
Zeigler was also trained in parachuting, which required many dangerous stunts.
“I’ve jumped off high speed boats, planes and parachuted along enemy lines,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler also worked for almost three years in construction as an operations manager, but through his many years in college and the Marines, Mr. Zeigler realized his passion for teaching.
“When I first started college, before the Marines, I was in a teacher’s program,” Zeigler said. “And a Marine officer is basically an instructor who teaches tactics, survival and hygiene.”
He first began teaching in Carlsbad as a homeschooling teacher, and the following year, he began teaching at CHS. This is currently Zeigler’s 21st year at CHS.
“Schools are not buildings and classrooms; they are teachers and students. Teachers have to be a student advocate,” Zeigler said. “We have great students, and I like working with them. I work well with the staff. We cooperate and help each other by sharing experiments, ideas and notes, and it’s all for one thing―to have our kids excel.”
