Image of Arch Zellick, a South Salem High School language arts teacher. Photo taken by Zoey Keele
Bookkeeper to English Teacher: Zellick’s Career Background and Evolution
From assisting at an independent bookstore owned by his mothers’ boyfriend to working five years in Best Buy’s cellphone department, Arch Zellick chose to settle down and educate. He now enters his second year at South Salem High School, specifically, teaching freshman language arts. Zellick grew up in Alameda, California but has been living in Salem, Oregon for 19 years.
Before teaching at South, Zellick taught at McKay High School for 12 years. Zellick decided he wanted to become a Language Arts teacher because English had always been his favorite subject when he was growing up.
“I was an avid reader from an early age, and most other subjects were much harder for me. Reading and writing always came a bit more naturally to me probably as a result of my love for reading at a young age,” Zellick said.
Inspiration Sources From Wherever the Mind Finds it
Zellick also had people in his life who inspired him to become a teacher. These people were his English teacher and his track coach.
“My 10th grade English teacher and my track coach were my biggest inspirations and connections to the field of education. Ms. Barclay and Coach Woo really showed me the importance of building relationships and how powerful it can be to inspire motivation and personal growth,” Zellick said.
When it comes to people who inspire him in his life, Zellick says it is his family.
“As cliche as it is going to sound, my family [is my biggest motivation]. My wife pours so much of her energy and love into our family to ensure everyone is happy that I can’t help but try to match her enthusiasm. And my children challenge me every day to be the best I can be for them. Just knowing every day that I have them motivates me,” Zellick said.
The Rhyme and the Reasoning: Zellick’s Music Choices
When Zellick needs a song in the background he chooses “Sun Models” by Odesza. In his opinion, this is a feel-good song, as well as an EDM song, which is his favorite music genre currently.
“I have been listening to a lot of EDM-based music like Odesza and Kygo. My brain kind of goes a mile a minute all the time, and weirdly enough, this kind of music is calming to me,” Zellick said.
