His Ray Ban sunglasses and skinny ties caused students to dub him the “hipster teacher,” but there is more to Mr. Eric Duarte than his fashion sense. For starters, in much of his adult life, Mr. Duarte was certain that he would become a priest, studying at St. Francis seminary for almost three years.
“At the end of high school I was discerning, and in the middle of college I entered the seminary until graduation, which is when they usually send seminarians to major seminary in Rome,” he said. “It was then that I discerned to do vocation as a teacher instead.”
Called to the married life instead of the priesthood, Mr. Duarte is now recently engaged. On February 22, 2014, he will marry his fiancé Celia, whom he met through their mutual friends and connected to as she shared his strong Catholic faith. “We’ll have a winter wedding, if all things go right,” he said. “All things in terms of the weather, I mean,” he quickly said with a laugh.
Though Mr. Duarte is new to Cathedral, he is no stranger to teaching. “When I was in seminary, the work I was assigned to do was teaching high school students, so that’s where I kind of got started, and I really enjoyed it,” he said. After graduating from USD, Mr. Duarte worked at Sweetwater Union High School, but he always had his eyes on Cathedral.
“I was always asking people, ‘You know, if there’s ever any openings just let me know and I’ll come in and help out,'” he said. So, when that opening appeared at the beginning of summer this year, Mr. Duarte squeezed in the interview before a flight for vacation in Mexico, spent the trip praying that he landed the position, and was, in his words, “stoked” once he learned that he did.
Mr. Duarte’s excitement for the job has not faded; he truly enjoys coming to work each day. “I had a lot of teachers in high school that didn’t like what they were teaching,” he said. “But I really, really like my subject. I couldn’t have asked for a better subject.”
Along with passion for his subjects of both philosophy and freshman religion, Mr. Duarte has an obvious connection to his students. “I want students to get a sense that I care, that I just genuinely care- and I really do, which makes everything easier,” he said. He wishes to develop an openness with students and explained, “I don’t expect my students to do anything that I don’t do myself. I would never ask them to go to daily Mass when I’m not, or go do a service project if I myself am not willing to do it.” Mr. Duarte leads students by example, with his faith especially, even attending daily Mass every morning.
“I couldn’t be happier to have daily Mass at my work. It’s a huge blessing. To be able to start your day with the Eucharist- what better way is there to do it?”
And as far as his burnished brown wing tip boots, Mr. Duarte said, “Being the hipster teacher is cool with me, especially if it makes me more approachable to the students. Maybe some will even join me for church in the mornings. I’ve been going to Mass since before it was cool.”
