After 30 years, Eppelsheimer still loves his job
L exi W elp
"I know you guys
have worked really hard
these last five days so go
ahead and take the next
two off, my treat," Gary
Eppelsheimer, film and
photo teacher, said. As his
last class of the day stares
at him with blank faces,
students start to laugh as
they realize their teacher
just told them they could
take the weekend off.
Eppelsheimer was not
always a photography
and film studies teacher
with the sweet jokes
though; over the past three
decades he has been an
audio-visual technician,
library media specialist
and environmental science
teacher, in addition to
graduating from West Linn
in 1972.
"It has been really
interesting teaching in
the same place I went to
high school, watching the
changes that have taken
place along the way,"
Eppelsheimer said. "I
believe that the only part
of the original building
that remains are three of
the walls of the* main gym,
but the dedication of the
teaching staff and students
that are engaged in learning
has remained a constant."
While in college, one
of his part time jobs was
setting up public address
systems for evening events
and he subbed for the audio
visual technician. After
graduating from college the
next year, he was hired in
students, I got the chance
to feel what it was like
teaching young adults,"
Eppelsheimer said.
With this new interest in
education Eppelsheimer
went back to school while
"He loves to make a lot of
photo jokes in class," Kinsey
Campbell, senior said.
Campbell took Photo I with
Eppelsheimer as a freshman
and she found the class very
interesting. "He makes sure
Photo by Ethan Brent
Gary Eppelsheimer talks to students, Alexandria Figone and Aileen Domann, freshmen. In his 31st year
in education, Eppelsheimer still enjoys teaching.
the AV position. Although
his original goal was to
work at West Linn for two
or three years and move
on to a television studio,
Eppelsheimer enjoyed his
work with teenagers so
much that he realized it was
really where he wanted to
be.
*
"When I worked with
still working full time and
raising a family. Hebecame
a certified library media
specialist and a science
teacher.
Eppelsheimer worked in
the library for seven years.
When that position was cut,
he easily transitioned into
teaching Photo I and science
the following year.
that you are doing well in
his class, and really relates
on a personal level with his
students."
In addition to photo,
Eppelsheimer has taught
film, Environmental Science,
Ecology Field Study and
Biology.
"He is able to make
the class very engaging
and easy for everyone to
understand. It is easy to see
that he loves what he does
and is very good at it," Ian
Winslow, sophomore, said.
" He is very tech- savvy. If
there is ever a problem with
a movie we are watching he
has it fixed within a couple
minutes.
When he is not at school
he enjoys spending time
with his family including
his wife, Jan, a retired
elementary school teacher,
and their two sons, Matt,
Class of 2001, and Dan,
Class of 2004. He and
his wife are very active
within the community and
especially loves outdoor
activities and music.
Eppelsheimer enjoys what
he teaches at school so
much he has made a hobby
out of it.
"I am a photographer
myself, so I love sharing
photography with
students," Eppelsheimer
said. "I am also a student of
film and the moving image."
Because Eppelsheimer
completed his 30th year
last year he also had the
option to retire. According
to Eppelsheimer, he has
made no plans to retire at
this point, but is glad that if
he wanted to he could. "This
is a great place to be for 30
years," he said. "I'm having
a blast."
Behind the Beard: An inside look at No Shave November
D rake E dwards
There are many great
American men in history:
Abraham Lincoln, Mark
Twain, Teddy
Roosevelt,
Robert E. Lee,
Ward Lewis,
Chuck Norris.
The list goes on
and on. But what
makes them so
great? It's one
simple fact; they
all have facial
hair.
This past
month, I partook
in an event
referred to as
"No Shave
November."
The rules are
simple, you
don't shave for
the entire month.
At
tV
. hair because it's blonde.
But all of these worries
were thrown aside on one
fateful night.
Photo by Mark Popped
thi <5 w h ole BEFORE: My attempt at a beard. I swear it looks
„
better with the right lighting and if you squint
idea just really
jus, , little bit
didn't seem
I was sitting at Round
that appealing to me;
Table, eating my regular
all I thought of was my
Hawaiian pizza after a
potential scruffiness and
the itching that would most Younglife event, when
my buddy Trevor Stone
likely come with it. On top
noticed my stubble after
of that, no one would be
not shaving for a few days.
able to really see my facial
"Drake!" He said, "If you
tried, I bet you would have
the best looking beard
ever!" I just told him that
he really wouldn't want
to see me grow a beard,
or even try. But he was
persistent enough for me to
strike a deal with him. We
agreed that I would only do
No Shave November if he
could persuade 300 people
to join a group on Facebook
for the cause by the end of
October. I thought I was
going to get away scot-free
with that number of people,
but unfortunately Trevor
convinced 300 people to
join in just two days.
So it was finished, I
couldn't
♦ shave for an entire
month. My razor and I
embraced for one last time,
and I put it into the far
reaches of my bathroom
cupboard. For the first few
days I actually had to slap
myself to not dig around
for it, but eventually I
learned not to. The .early
stages of not shaving were
actually working well; it
helped me get ready for
school faster, and I can't lie,
it felt pretty good to rub the
of my face. Ouch! The
second problem was my
uncontrollable stroking
of my hair. I probably
look like such
a weirdo when
I'm in class
staring off,
and twisting
my beard like
a total creep.
To those of
you who have
seen me do it, I
apologize. The
final problem
was food
sticking in my
hair. It hasn't
happened to
me too often,
but when it
does I just want
to go take a
shower. I feel
Photo by Mark Popped so dirty.
AFTER: While I had hair on my face, I liked
Even with
twisting it, but now that I’ve shaved I can’t stop
the cons, it's
rubbing my stubble.
been pretty
fun having some fuzz. It
of my new facial friend.
was a good test run for a
The first, and probably the
legitimate full face of hair.
worst was when the hair
I think if I set my beard to
on my chin got caught
it, I could join the ranks of
in my necklace. Every
some of the greatest men
time I moved my head, I
in American history.
would pull hairs right out
stubble on my chin.
But after about a week,
I definitely started to
notice the negative effects