WILMINGTON — Andrew Bozanic said his arrival at Padua Academy was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. His students have certainly benefited from his turn of fate.
Bozanic just finished his eighth year at Padua, where he teaches history, psychology and a research course. He was nominated for The Dialog’s Teacher Feature by several students.
“He is so incredibly vibrant which makes me excited to come to class. He adds appropriate humor to the classroom and he is very involved, wanting to make sure the students understand,” wrote Emma Biggs, a rising senior.
“He made sure that everyone is having fun while learning about history, and he is always there if you have a question or need someone to talk to,” added Madison Ludwig, also a rising senior.
Bozanic, a Baltimore native, was judging a National History Day competition at the University of Delaware, where he attended graduate school, when ran into a former classmate at UD who introduced him to longtime Padua teacher Barbara Markham. He said Markham told him he would be a great fit at Padua, but the school didn’t have any openings at the time. That changed a year later.
“I was nervous,” he said. “I taught at the college level. I was a public school kid. I grew up Catholic, but I didn’t go to Catholic school. I had never taught at an all-girls school.”
Markham, he said, was a great department chair and has been very supportive.
“I owe her a lot,” he said.
His role at Padua quickly expanded from history and psychology to include the research class. He has been the only teacher for that class since its inception. His students do an original research project, starting with the selection of a topic and ending with a 4-5,000 word paper and a 15-minute presentation and oral defense.
“It’s a very unique class. It’s one of the only ones in Padua or any high school where kids get to pick exactly what they want to study and understand exactly what the research process is,” he said.
Just about any topic the students choose is fine. Every year, he said, they come up with great questions. It involves a lot of independent work.
“I really feel lucky that I get a chance to do that,” he said.
Siena Evans, who will be a senior this year, credits Bozanic for helping her find an affinity for psychology. She said she wishes it met more than three times per week. One of her favorite things about having him for class and homeroom was hearing different music each time she walked through the door.
“Not only does Dr. Boz have good taste in music, but he helped make class engaging. He would make sure to include fun labs and ask us questions that related to the material but also our personal lives,” she wrote in her nomination.
Bozanic attended Georgia Tech University believing he would become an aerospace engineer. He also had a minor in history, and an interest in music. He graduated with a degree in history, technology and society. Some of his professors at Georgia Tech had done graduate work at the University of Delaware, which is where he ended up for his master’s and doctoral degree. He also did some teaching.
“I found that I really loved the teaching,” he said. “I like teaching at the college level, the intellectual aspect of it. I got to do a lot of research at the Smithsonian, the National Music Museum. I got to write about the acoustic guitar. I could combine my love of music and history together.”
He has found a home at Padua, although he had to get used to an all-girls environment, and he had no experience with Catholic school. The students, he said, are serious, and there are very few discipline issues. The girls are prepared and want to succeed, he added.
Izabelle Evans, a rising senior, likes the way he incorporates spirituality into his classes and has embraced Padua’s sisterhood.
“In his class he has us constantly working together with our sisters building our relationships with students we may not always interact with. He embodies spirituality by always incorporating religion into his classroom. He always opens his class with music and a prayer daily. He finds prayers that directly relate to things in our lives and the world around us,” she wrote.
Going from history to psychology to research requires Bozanic to pay attention to his schedule. Two days a week, he teaches all three subjects.
“I’ve never been bored,” he joked.
In addition to his work in the classroom, Bozanic is in charge of the music ministry for liturgical celebrations at Padua. He is also one of the directors of the musical theater program, and he is the public address announcer at some Pandas athletic events.
“It’s the little things like staying after school with us to answer our questions, asking how our weekend was or, wishing us luck in our after school events, that sets Dr. Boz apart,” Evans wrote.
He and his wife, Shannon, met at the University of Delaware and are members of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Brandywine Hundred. They have two cats, Lorelai and Luke, named after characters in “Gilmore Girls.”
He has loved music his entire life and plays the guitar and some piano. He played the saxophone in high school. He adds his guitar skills to Padua’s music ministry and works it into some of his classroom lessons.
He and his wife are big sports fans. She got him into Philadelphia Flyers hockey, and he is an Orioles fan. He also enjoys gardening and spending time with family and friends.
