By Ashlynne Myrick

Have you seen the tallest man on campus? But, no I don’t mean Dr. Porter. If not, then meet Tempe Prep’s newest 10th grade poetry teacher, Mr. Sperduti.

From his past years of being an elementary and middle school teacher he is the right man for the job. When Mr. Sperduti got an offering for the job, he readily accepted due to TPA’s outstanding reputation for being one of the best high schools in the state.

After, working in aerospace and in real estate for the past 40 years, Mr. Sperduti came out of retirement to work here part-time, claiming that he is very fortunate to be here. Despite his background in science and business, teaching poetry was his best fit. It is because, Mr. Sperduti also likes to write in his free time, currently writing about the effects of climate change.

When asked what he was like as a student, Mr. Sperduti replied, “At first I was an underachiever but when the grades mattered in high school I worked harder to get into college and hard work always pays off.” He ended up attending three different colleges to get him where he is now – ASU, U of A, and Long Beach State in California. But, his favorite college out of those three would be ASU because his daughter attends there.

Mr. Sperduti would like all of TPA’s students to work on developing great habits for studying before college. He says that, if you don’t, college will get hard fast, and you don’t want that to happen. If you study hard and make good habits now you will have a better chance at getting scholarships that will help pay for your attendance at college.

Since Mr. Sperduti’s love for student success seems as tall as he is himself, I’m sure he will fit well at TPA. But, we all hope he has fun teaching here as well.