For today’s teacher feature, we talked to Mr. Joe Hayes: Chemistry teacher and Offensive Coordinator for the Shaler Titans Football team. 

Q: What was your favorite student slang, and can you use it in a sentence?

A: Chopped Cheese – I don’t have a sentence, but just imagine me dunking on Robert Maher in a 1v1 and calling him chopped cheese as I step over him.

Q: What was your first car?

A: Subaru Forester – passed down to me by my Uncle when I was a Junior in high school. Apparently my cousin was born in the backseat but I don’t know if that was true or if they were just messing with me.

Q: What is your favorite food or meal?

A: I would say anything with chicken bacon and ranch – could be a sub, wrap, salad, or pizza.

Q: Did you always want to be a science teacher? 

A: Originally, I wanted to be a history teacher but when I got to college and sat through my first history class, I realized I didn’t like history as much as I thought I did so I had to find a new major. It felt like every girl I met on campus was a bio major, so I went with that. For the bio major you start out taking intro to bio and intro to chemistry – got an A+ in chemistry and a B in bio and my chemistry professor convinced me to switch so I did. It turned out to be a great decision. 

Q: What college did you attend and why?

A: Allegheny College because I wanted to play football in college, I loved the campus and the people there felt genuine. 

Q: What has been your favorite football moment up to this point as a player and a coach?

A: My favorite moment as a football player was catching a touchdown in the 4th quarter against Oberlin College my senior year to put us up two scores. My favorite moment as a football coach so far was celebrating with the players after we scored our first touchdown of the season against Butler this past year. 

Q: What was the best concert you have ever been to?

A: My freshman year of college I went with some friends to see Tory Lanez at Darian Lake. Lanez came out and started crowd surfing, but he wasn’t on his back. He was walking over the crowd as people held up his feet. He ended up right on top of my friends and I and next thing I know I was holding up his right foot as he performed.

Q: What is your fattest moment?

A:  We had a poker night at a friend’s house in high school, and they gave my friend and I $30 bucks to go pick up a couple of pizzas for the group but instead we went to McDonalds and ordered 30 McChicken’s.