By: Abby Coven and Hayley Strahs

News Editor and Editor-in-Chief

From cultivating a positive learning environment to deploying creative incentives to encourage student progress, Chris Cheman demonstrates daily his compassion and belief in every student he teaches. At LGHS, Cheman instructs Pre-Algebra, Algebra A and B, and co-teaches Geometry with Kerry Keplinger Northen.

To help pay for college, Cheman enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in high school with plans to join the military after graduation. Unfortunately, he was not able to continue with the program and was medically discharged after having two collapsed lungs the summer before his senior year. Cheman recalled, “It all fell apart my senior year, and I had to restructure everything.” His reset took him to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where Cheman studied art, specifically the history of printing. He always loved art but did not want a career as a printer or artist, so he found himself on a path to teaching.

An avid surfer since middle school, Cheman traveled widely for surfing adventures in Mexico, Central America, and Indonesia. Cheman’s first catalyst for becoming a teacher came after meeting an Indonesian teacher and volunteering to teach English at her school. The classroom was blazing hot without air conditioning, and they closed the windows to lessen the constant noise from motorbikes and traffic outside. Still, Cheman found working every day as a teacher fulfilling. After returning from Indonesia, he worked at a community center supporting children with disabilities, where he officially decided to pursue his teaching credential.

This June will mark Cheman’s fourth year at LGHS, and he is ecstatic about “seeing students that I started with as freshmen successfully graduating high school.” Every tutorial in his classroom, Room 33, is bustling with former students reminiscing about their time in his class, including an especially memorable incident that took place two years ago. Cheman agreed to a bet with a student: he would dye his hair pink if that student received all As. He admitted, “The student was also exceptionally bright, so I kind of knew I was doomed about halfway through it.” Including, but not limited to, his one-time hair change, Cheman constantly motivates his students to succeed in the classroom. 

In contrast to his cheerful demeanor, Cheman loves horror movies. His favorites are the highly realistic Texas Chainsaw Massacre films because “those are the ones that are the scariest for me, because you’re like, ‘that could really happen.’” When he’s not being spooked, Cheman spends time with his family: his wife, ten-year-old son, and five nameless neon tetra fish. For Cheman, mornings are a time to “make lunches and draw pictures and all that stuff” for his son.

From teaching English in Indonesia to forging individual connections at LG, Cheman has impacted countless kids throughout his teaching career. His mantra is simple: “I always try to bring positivity into the room. Always smile.”