English Teacher Mr. Casey Gembicki Transfers to Westwood

Photo courtesy of Mr. Casey Gembicki.

English teacher Mr. Casey Gembicki joined the staff this year, teaching Pre-AP English II and AP English IV. Before coming to Westwood, he taught nine years at three different high schools and eight years at Hernandez Middle School.

“The reason that I ended up in Austin is because my wife’s family is originally from here, so she grew up in Waco and Pflugerville,” Mr. Gembicki said. “When we first got together we met and decided that we wanted to live with each other. She followed me to Philadelphia and to Virginia because I had gotten different teaching jobs and at that point, her parents were getting older, and she missed being in Texas. The whole deal was you follow me for a couple years, then I’ll follow you for a couple years. So we decided to move here to Texas, and I guess we just never left.”

Mr. Gembicki loves English and decided to become a teacher during high school. He often tries to challenge students and push them to work hard and be the best.

“In high school, I was kind of a ‘C’ student,” Mr. Gembicki said. “One of my high school English teachers let me skip reading major texts because I was a poet. Instead of reading a book, he would say go ahead and write three poems about something. I was being a lazy kid and he let me get away with it. I think my teachers could’ve challenged me and I thought that I could do that for kids that aren’t being challenged.”

Outside of school, Mr. Gembicki enjoys to explore and go hiking. He often walks on trails and likes to build and create things. His explorative and creative nature heavily influence his daily life.

“The podium at the front of my room, I built last summer,” Mr. Gembicki said. “It’s old and kind of rackety looking, but I love it because it kind of represents that side of me.”

Mr. Gembicki has an variety of interests and hobbies. In addition to exploring, he enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with one of his friends from Stony Point. He also skateboarded for 15 years, enjoys motorcycling, draws digital art, and is very passionate about music.

“I was in a funk rock band when I was in high school, and I wrote the songs and played the guitar,” Mr. Gembicki said. “We threw on a show and we convinced the principal to throw on a night show in the auditorium and it was a crazy night. They never allowed kids to do that again after we did it.”

With his interesting background and teaching style, Mr. Gembicki is a unique teacher who will drive his students to become better learners in the coming year.