There’s a new teacher in the STEM department at Holy Family this year.

A mechanical engineer and club lacrosse athlete from Atlanta, Jack Assaf has an extensive background.

He attended Notre Dame for both engineering and lacrosse.

“I was excited about Notre Dame because it was a catholic school, and I got to try out engineering. I grew in academics and my faith, and made some good friends,” he said.

In addition to his academic and athletic achievements, Mr. Assaf has an unconventional story about how he decided to begin teaching.

“For two months, I got to live and work in Ghana in a rural village called Adaklu Helekpe where I taught physics, which was an awesome experience.” said Assaf, who after his experience teaching in Ghana, knew that teaching was the path for him, “I saw it (Ghana) as a sort of internship for teaching, I really liked it and knew I could do it as a full time job.”

Mr. Assaf also plans to make a change at Holy Family, and hopes to break the barrier between athletics and academics.

“It’s a common misconception that the kids who do sports don’t like school as much,” said Assaf, whose sports background also includes time on the football field.

It is indeed a misconception, because the high school should be a time to explore interests.

Assaf plans to do bring the coaching lacrosse in the spring, as well as the robotics team.

Mr. Assaf will be a great addition to the Holy Family community by being an advocate for the scholars and athletes alike.

“It’s awesome to be a teacher who also gets to coach robotics and lacrosse,” he said.