Alumnus Is “Hands On”
By Kelly Whalen
Pete Karpyk didn’t always know what he wanted to do with his life. As a child of Ukrainian descent, he emigrated from England with his parents and grew up in Warren, Ohio, where he wasn’t exactly a fan of school. He planned to get a union job when he graduated; however, he decided that despite the hurdles he faced throughout school, he would go on to college.
“I was never one of those who decided at an early age to become a teacher,” Pete says.
It wasn’t until he earned his bachelor’s degree at Youngstown State University that Pete realized what he really wanted to do. Even then his dream was only realized because of an accident at the golf course where he worked at the time. A lawn mower nearly severed his toe and he was unable to work. It was then that he started tutoring and realized he loved working with children.
Pete decided to combine his interest and natural knack for science and chemistry with his love of kids and became a chemistry teacher at Weir High School in Weirton, West Virginia, and made the decision to further his education at WVU, where he earned his master’s degree in speech communication. Not only does he want to teach his students what they need to know to do well on a test, but he also thinks it is important to motivate his students to keep learning outside of the classroom.
“It’s not what they learn from you,” Pete explains. “It’s their attitude—with a positive attitude you can really go out and learn on your own.” It’s this attitude that has made Pete Karpyk a member of USA Today’s All-USA Teacher Team, a recognition program for outstanding teachers.
Today, working with and inspiring students is Pete’s favorite part of his job; his second favorite is finding new and fun ways to teach a concept. He enjoys teaching with hands-on experiments that allow his students to see a reaction better than a book or lecture would be able to show them.
Although Pete never set foot in a chemistry class at WVU, he feels like he knows the program well through his past students. He feels that his time at WVU really prepared him to go out into the real world.
Pete still feels a strong connection with the University. He says that he gets excited during football season because he gets to see some of his past students doing what they love on the football field, and is proud of all that they have accomplished academically. He also enjoys reading about past students and his former classmates in the WVU Alumni Magazine.
“I think it’s very important to support the Alumni Association. I believe it gives current students an opportunity to see what past students have gone on to do,” Pete says.
His advice to students and new graduates: “You have to find something you really enjoy doing in life because enjoying things that you do is more important than the money you make.”