Marc Zollinger, Spanish teacher, lives by two words: community and respect. Known as “Marcos” to his Spanish students, he aims to be comfortable and build a community within his classes. He hopes to connect his students with the Spanish-speaking world. The goal of his class, he believes, is not to earn a good grade, but to carry this language and to be passionate about it in different aspects of our lives.
“I’d taken Spanish for a long time, and I really wasn’t good at it. But I wanted to come out of college with a useful talent,” Zollinger said.
Zollinger currently teaches Spanish 2 and AP Spanish. He has taught at the University of Oregon for six years, and at Willamette University for two years. Having lived in Spain for a year and to Ecuador with a group of his students, Zollinger hopes to lead a summer study-abroad experience.
Outside of school and his passion for Spanish, Zollinger lives with his wife, Kim, and his cat, Max, who is practically the child of the family. In fact, Zollinger was married during the first week of school in Wisconsin. He also likes motorcycling, skiing and hanging out with his friends.
In terms of West Linn, Zollinger looks at this job as ” one to have for a long time”. In the future, he’d like to look into administration.
“I think the community spirit I get is exciting. I’m looking forward to meeting students and experiencing the different quality of this school,” he said.