The Shakerite VOL 91 ISSUE I

A
s I logged onto my Google Meet
with Mr. Reese, he greeted me in
front of large, white cabinets and an
alarmingly green plant. Just as I was
wondering where the money for such
an extravagant teacher office came
from, he confessed he was trying out a virtual background,
provided by Google.
Before we got down to business, I learned something
very important about Reese. “I’m not a cat
person,” he said. “Cats don’t seem like they are
trustworthy. They always look like they’re up to
something. Do you have a cat?” When I reluctantly
told him I did, he told me “[I’d] better watch my
back. Your cat’s gonna be like, ‘Yeah, I heard what
that guy said.’ ”
Nathaniel Reese, Jr. is the district MAC Scholars
Coordinator. From an early age, Reese’s parents
instilled in him values that make him the leader he
is today. “My father taught me a long time ago to
be able to speak to those people who are scraping
to get by, all the way through those who are billionaires,
and everybody in between,” he said. Reese’s father
worked for Ford, and his mother for J.C Penny.
He grew up with an older brother and sister, Tony
and Marilyn. At Bedford Heights High School, he
enjoyed playing basketball and running track.
From Bedford High, Reese attended Kent State
University and earned an undergraduate degree in
rhetoric and communications. He then returned to
KSU and earned a master’s degree in education.
With two weeks left in his Bedford student-teaching
term, he got a call from Shaker. The district offered
him a long-term 6th grade substitute position
at Woodbury Elementary School.
To me, walking into a class of pre-teen kids
hopped up on snack-bar treats sounds like a nightmare.
Reese felt no such fear. “I try not to go into
any situation with preconceived notions or expectations,
so I wasn’t overwhelmed. It was just a matter
of getting used to having my own class,” Reese
said. “And, I’m not saying I’m a perfectionist, but I
like doing things correctly. I don’t like making mistakes.”
Reese began teaching sixth grade math and science
at Woodbury in 1997, and remained in that position
until 2018.
As a teacher, Reese’s main focus was the children.
“I try to make sure they are prepared for anything
to come their way. Although kids need to go
through hardships and difficulty in order to prepare
themselves for the world, there are times that I feel
that if you can make life a little easier for them,
cool,” he said.
Reese’s favorite part about teaching was finding
out how he affected students, even in the smallest
ways. “You never know who’s watching, you know?
So, students that come back and speak about a specific
moment that I looked out for them somehow,
that was what I really loved,” Reese said.
Reese’s care for students was especially evident
when he assumed the MAC Scholars position in
September 2018 after Mary Lynne McGovern retired.
McGovern helped found the program more
than two decades ago. Reese had been with his final
class at Woodbury for only three months before he
came to the high school. When it was time for him
to leave, students and adults alike shed tears.
Reese said he was surprised that students became
so attached to him so quickly. But, can you
blame them? They were losing a teacher who would
drop everything to help them out with a problem.
Now, Reese works with the Office of Diversity
Equity and Inclusion, the Family and Community
Engagement Center, and the Bridges program.
Though he enjoyed his time at Woodbury, he said he
enjoys the more mature conversations he can now
have with high school students. Reese helps students
assess the fast-approaching adult future and
get a sense of what they may want to do in life.
“Even setting yourself up with goals you don’t
even know you had,” said Reese,”because you might
get to graduation and you might decide: You know
what? I DO want to go to college, I DO want to do
this.”
And with Mr. Reese by your side, it’s easy to feel
like you can do just about anything.
Spring 2021 THE SHAKERITE 53