Outstanding O’Malley: The One and Only

Name: Steven O’Malley

Subjects: AP Chemistry and Organic Chemistry 

Why do you teach your subject?

I have always enjoyed chemistry and knew I wanted my career to be related in some way. I never wanted to be a teacher, but now that I have been teaching here at Stuyvesant for exactly 20 years, ever since January 2006, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Why do you work at Stuyvesant, and do you enjoy it?

I do like it. It’s a different kind of challenge than a maybe more typical high school. I didn't go to a high school like this. I went to a more typical high school in the United States. It was not a magnet school or a specialized high school of any sort. When I first decided I wanted to go into teaching, I really wanted to teach organic chemistry. I always thought, “Well, I have to teach at a college or university.” And then I started looking around and realized, “Oh, there are some very high-level high schools out there that offer more advanced chemistry classes, and this was one of them, and I was already living [in New York].” I sought this out amongst a few other specialized high schools that you know the names of. And I luckily got a position here. The students are great. 

Have you always wanted to be a teacher, and if not, what did you do before?

I never knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was in high school or even really college. It was kind of later in college, when I was with one of my good friends, who was in my organic chemistry class with me, and we were just studying for exams together, and we used to go to empty classrooms at night and do practice problems on the boards because you could do that if you could find one and it was a great space. I’m a learner when I’m on my feet. This career is made for me for that reason, too. [My friend is] a doctor now, but I remember when she and I were taking this class together, and I was at the board just writing out a mechanism. She said, “Steve, you really like this stuff. You should teach it one day.” That just planted a seed, and prior to that, I never actually thought about doing something that I would actually enjoy. I just kept going towards things that I was good enough at. And that would let me get a job somewhere doing something. And I realized, “Yeah, I really do like this stuff, and I like writing it out and talking about it with people.” So I went from there. 

I didn't think I'd ever want to be a high school teacher. I really thought when I was much younger, I wanted to work with college-aged students. That was my goal through college, through graduate school, even when I did my post-doctorate, that was what my plan was. And it was only after all that that I changed my mind. I actually did work at John Jay College, part of CUNY, for one semester. It was great, but I knew as I was doing it, “I don't think I'm gonna do this for the rest of my career.” My good friend in graduate school said, “Steve, you should just consider teaching high school. I think you would really like it.” He had gone into teaching high school after getting his Ph.D., to which I was like, “Why would you do that? Why would you get a Ph.D. and then go teach [at a] high school? You know, you can do that without a Ph.D.” He said, “I just wanted to learn more.” And I said, “Oh yeah, I like learning more, too.” And then I started emailing random people at high schools, and the Assistant Principal of Chemistry back then was kind enough to respond to me and say, “Come on in for an interview,” And here I am. 

Do you remember any funny anecdotes in the classroom, either as a student or as a teacher?

I'll never forget when some of my first students ever—we're talking 20 years ago—would frequently play pranks on me in a very affectionate way. They would hide inside the chalkboard, and during the lesson, make noises from the other side, and then come crawling out, and the whole class would erupt in laughter. That's a thing in some of the rooms [where] you can actually stand up inside of [the chalkboards]. It's filthy in there.

I remember my first year, one of my students in my organic chemistry class was absent. I’m teaching a lesson, and I heard a tapping from the other side of the chalkboard. And I was like, “What is going on?” and the whole class is giggling. They all know, and I had to say, “Wait a second. Is so-and-so inside the chalkboard?” Because I knew exactly who it was. That's the first one that came to mind. I've got tons of anecdotes about students. That's way more memorable than the lessons and things you learn—way more. That's what you're gonna remember in life, too. The same is true for me. [My students] used to replace my chalk with little bits of fruit and stuff. It's all in good fun. Sometimes I have to say, any attention is good attention. So, I always took it that way. Those were memorable times. 

Tell us about your younger years—where you grew up and what you loved to do as a child.

My father was in the Air Force, so we moved every couple of years. I got used to living in different places and meeting new people who also moved around and had to meet new people. I loved playing video games and building things with LEGOs, and just being outside, riding my bicycle. I still like those things.

If you had to choose one chemistry concept to represent Stuyvesant students, what would it be?

Kinetics. It’s all about their collisions, how much energy they bump into each other with, and whether or not a reaction happens.

Would you consider yourself a night owl or an early bird?

I totally used to be a night owl, but in the last decade or so, I have become an early bird person. I wake up without an alarm every day, on my own, probably between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., which makes me miss the ability to sleep in. To all the teenagers out there who have that power to sleep in, enjoy it while you have it, just in case it goes away, because I remember in college waking up and looking at the clock and being like, “Wow, it's 11:30 a.m. Look at that. I missed breakfast at the dining hall.” Oh, well. Those were great times. I feel lucky if I can sleep in until eight or nine these days. It just means I go to bed early. I get all my work done first thing in the morning if I can. That's just how I am now. My advisor in graduate school warned me that this would happen. I don't know if it's a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, but that's what happened to Professor Jim Leighton, and he told us, “Enjoy sleeping in while you can,” and now I know what he [was] talking about. Sometimes I'll intentionally go to bed so early to try to replicate the sleeping-in factor. Not very often, but like once a year, I'll force myself to go to bed at like 6:00 p.m., and then I'll feel amazing because I'll get 12 hours of sleep. That's not frequent, but once in a while. You gotta try it. And if it means bed at 1:00 a.m., but getting up at [noon], sure. 11 hours? You totally need that once in a while. Friday night is usually my night to experiment with this because there's nothing on Saturday, so I can turn my brain off. I also know, “Oh, I still have Sunday if there's anything that has to happen, right?” Go to bed at 4:00 p.m. on a Friday and just see what happens. And so what if you wake up at 8:00 a.m. the next day? You do the math. But don't use that to say, “Oh, I don't have to sleep at all this week.” No, no, no, no, no. That's physiologically terrible. You need at least six hours to maintain cognitive stability. Not on average—it's just that's a minimum.

Do you have any favorite movies?

I love films. I've always loved watching films, and I have a lot that I love watching. I was chatting with [a student] about the French director Godard and some of his films. I love old Italian movies and the directors. For example, Fellini makes great films, but I'm a sucker for a modern Marvel movie, too. I’ll definitely watch any pop culture stuff, you name it. I don't think I have an all-time favorite movie. But if I had to pick a couple that I could probably watch over and over again and never get tired of, one of them is definitely Casablanca. I know that's an old one, but still. I love The Shawshank Redemption. That's a while ago, too, but that's a great film. You can never get tired of that. Big Fish—I cry at the ending every time. And, I love Arrival. That's not too long ago. That's a good sci-fi film. 

I heard that you liked the movie Inception, so if you had to pick a totem,* what would it be?

A four-leaf clover. I'm Irish, and I have an uncanny ability to find them. I find them way more frequently than I think most people do. I'll just be jogging down the street and look down at the patches, and I'll spot one amidst others. It's my only superpower. It's not very useful, but I will see them all over, [all] the time. I don't pick them anymore because I feel like someone else should have an opportunity to find them. I've taken to finding them and taking photographs. If I could make a physical one, that would be my totem. A useless superpower, but I've been that way my whole life, and I don't know why.

You have said that you like learning languages. Do you have any favorites? What are you learning right now?

My favorite was actually sign language, just because it's so different, and it exposed me to a whole culture that exists in the world of people that I never knew anything about before. Right now, I’m trying to learn a little bit of Irish Gaelic because I’m hoping to travel there next year. That's usually the only reason I study languages. Every summer, I travel for a long time, and I try to learn whatever it is I’m gonna hopefully use there. Last summer, a little bit of French, prior to that, some Swedish, prior to that, some Greek, et cetera, et cetera. So I've forgotten a lot of it. But if you know a few phrases, it gets you so far in a different community. Just being able to say “please” and “thank you” and “hello” and “nice to meet you” in the native language. That's all it takes, actually, and I feel like it opens a lot of doors with other people, at least in every community I've ever been to: Thailand, Norway, France, Japan, Indonesia. Those are just a few. Teaching gives me the chance to go do all that traveling, too. There are not many jobs where you get to have your summers off. We don't get to pick it, but we get a lot of vacation.

Do you have any specific platform that you usually use to learn these languages?

There's an app called Mango, like the fruit. And with a New York Public Library membership, you can access the entire database. It's [centered around] audio, listening, and repeating, and it says, “Here's how you say (whatever phrase),” and then you say it back. I usually listen to those while I'm jogging, and then I'll learn new phrases. If you see somebody running down the highway, who's saying stuff out loud in a different language and stopping to find four-leaf clovers, it might be me.

Any advice for Stuyvesant students or words of wisdom? 

Do whatever it is you think you’ll remember more. “Am I going to regret doing ‘blank?’ Or am I going to regret not doing ‘blank?’” What will you remember more? Maybe use that to help make decisions in life.

*In the movie Inception, a totem is a personal object with unique features that only its owner is aware of. Totems are used by their owners to tell if they are in a dream or in reality, as the “dream architects” are not able to perfectly replicate these unique objects.