Meet the newest addition to the history department, Matthew Hrozencik! Now a teacher of world history and government, he is a former political journalist. He spent most of his life in Fairfax County and is now a three-year resident of Fauquier County. he enjoys reading and writing and has been playing guitar for 13 years. “I have a little bit of a spending habit of buying more guitars, pedals, and amps that I probably can’t afford,” admitted Hrozencik.
Coming from Taylor Middle School, which “was never dull,” Hrozencik also worked at Westfield High School in Fairfax, Va., for three years, from 2018 to 2021. He was an instructor in the special education department. “It’s a humble job,” commented Hrozencik, reminiscing about the old days at Westfield High School.
According to Hrozenick, being a high school teacher is much easier since “middle school is difficult to teach because that’s the age where [students] don’t care [about anything].” He says high school has a “little bit more of a maturity level, and students are starting to focus on their future.” For him, this is the main factor in making high school much more fun.
Throughout his school years, Hrozencik has held roles other than that of a teacher. Returning to his past as a political journalist, he worked on Capitol Hill during the 2016 presidential election, covering the Speaker of the House at press conferences. He also briefly worked in marketing, creating political commercials for candidates.
Speaking of the Capitol, Hrozencik was also an intern for former Representative Frank Wolf. During his internship, he had the chance to meet various political figures, such as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Recalling his days interning at Capitol Hill, Hrozencik remarked, “It was fun, all of these guys [people] see on TV, and you [get a chance] to roll around the elevator with them.”
Despite his near-political background, Hrozencik has wanted to be a teacher his whole life. “I’ve always enjoyed history and thought it’s fun to get to talk about something that interests you,” he said. “It’s also nice to know that I got to use my degree. [People] go to college and then end up not using their degrees at all,” Hrozencik added. As a government teacher, he uses the tactic of “applying the real world to the classroom.” Hrozencik argues that in the classroom, it is essential to study past events and what is happening here and now, given the upcoming presidential election in 2024. According to him, “Applying social studies to the real world helps students recognize its importance as they take the next step into their lives.” As one with a bachelor’s in political science, Hrozencik often applies his political experience to the classroom, especially regarding news, primary and secondary resources, conducting interviews, legal background knowledge and understanding the language of documents.
Students will walk away from Horozencik’s class, as he says, “with [knowledge] that affects them,…they will have a better understanding of who they are, where they come from and how the politics of the world…[influence] them and will hopefully get registered to vote by the time they’re 18.” His dedication to helping students understand the real-world impact of politics and history will surely be worth thousands of standing applause.
