Introduce yourself in one sentence, please.

Hi, I am Alex Coleman. I am a husband, hiker, teacher, and lover of all things sports and coffee.

Why did you choose AAS and what are your expectations?

Some teachers from my previous school were already at AAS and they had wonderful things to say about the school (shout out to the Negrete’s and Bannister’s!). My wife, Ms. Vane (KGA), and I love to hike and we know that there is some amazing hiking in Bulgaria. We have already gotten to Vratsa and had some amazing views.

Where did you work before?

My first teaching job was in the Marshall Islands on a tiny island called Kwajalein, it is 5km long by 1 km. It was awesome, everyone commuted on bikes, no cars. I got to take my classes snorkeling, how cool is that? Then I moved to Panama at the International School of Panama where I met the lovely Ms. Vane.

What do you love most about your job?

Have you met the students at AAS? The students here are incredible. I also get to be active and help students find joy in movement. There is nothing better than students discovering new skills or growing in confidence in a skill they already know. My favorite interaction with students is when they tell me they signed up for an after school activity because they learned and had so much fun in PE.

What would you be if you weren’t a teacher?

Physical therapist. Similar to teaching PE, I love seeing people growing in their confidence in their body and slowly being able to achieve more and more. The ability of the human body is incredible, WOW!

What is the most important thing one has to learn at school?

Doing the hard and difficult things is worth it. The classes and life lessons I learned and remember the most were not the ones I got the easy A but the classes I struggled and had to work incredibly hard at. I was grateful not only for the content, but the life skills of hardwork and perseverance I learned along the way. Embrace the struggle!

What would you say to your 13-year-old self?

Be nice to everyone. You will never regret showing kindness and grace. Even when it’s not reciprocated, keep being kind anyway. I was very concerned with what others thought of me and tried hard to appear “cool”. I wish I had let those concerns go and treated everyone with kindness.

Please recommend a book to read

‘Love Does‘ by Bob Goff. How do we make our love for people and adventures actionable? How do we go from just sitting and thinking/talking about it to living a life of making a difference, big and small? How do we go from being on the sidelines to getting in the game and making this world a better place? All questions that I have asked myself and this book helped to provide the motivation, purpose, and roadmap.