Editor’s note — The following is the fourth of 12 personal profile stories written by McClain High School journalism students about influential people in their lives.
Brandon Streitenberger has been an educator at McClain High School for 28 years. He has taught government, psychology, U.S. studies, world studies, ancient world history and geography.
Streitenberger became a teacher because he liked social studies when he was a student in high school, and he also wanted to coach. Not to mention that he enjoys the months of June, July and August. Originally, he wanted to be a veterinarian, but says that his lack of science skills ruled out that occupation for him.
During his teaching career, he has won three major awards. One was Teacher of the Year, voted on by the McClain seniors.
While talking about the way teaching has impacted his life, Streitenberger says that teaching doesn’t seem like a job to him. He likes that he is his own boss in the classroom, and he enjoys building relationships with students. It makes him happy to see them succeed after high school.
When it comes to the craziest thing he’s ever seen while being a teacher, he says that every day is crazy.
While Streitenberger does spend most of his time at the school, when he’s away from MHS, he officiates basketball, umpires baseball, and enjoys golfing and fishing.
Some of his proudest accomplishments are winning a league championship in 2010 in baseball, winning 42 straight games as a boys freshmen boys basketball coach, and being part of former McClain coach Rick VanMatre’s successful boys basketball staff for 20 years.
Five years from now, Streitenberger hopes to be retired, living in a trailer with a yard somewhere in Florida.
