Embracing the FA Community with Mr. Nestor

Mr.+Alex+Nestor

Ava Strand

Mr. Alex Nestor

Kyra Ramsey, Staff Writer

As a new teacher this year, Mr. Nestor has already made quite an impression at Falmouth Academy. But why did he choose our school? What made him want to become a teacher? And — why math? 

Mr. Nestor was drawn to Falmouth Academy right from his interview: “[When I interviewed] it seemed like a really positive learning environment. It was a really supportive group, from Mr. Green to the students.” Although joining a new community can be intimidating, Mr. Nestor  felt like he would be welcomed in with open arms. There were also a few aspects of Falmouth Academy that Mr. Nestor didn’t expect: “Something that really surprised me was that at the end of class, everyone says ‘thank you.’” He also mentioned how much he enjoyed Marconi Beach Day: “Marconi was so cool. It was awesome to see teams of all ages working together. At my school, the freshmen were terrified of the seniors.”

Mr. Nestor always knew he wanted to study and teach math; numbers have always been easy for him to understand: “Numbers are, in a way, very simple. While they confuse a lot of people, they’ve always just been something that I am in control of me.” Mr. Nestor currently teaches Algebra I, Algebra II, and Calculus BC. Algebra I is among his favorites: “It’s great because it has real-world applications,” he says. “[Algebra I] is when math becomes more real-world and less just drilling with problems. Calculus is where the numbers get really cool.” 

Mr. Nestor was drawn to coaching for a very simple reason: “Coaching is just teaching, but a sport, and I love teaching and sports.” Mr. Nestor coaches the Boys’ Varsity Soccer and Girls’ Middle School Basketball teams. Even as a new teacher, he had a blast coaching the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team: “We have a very young team and I think that a lot of the guys were forced to step into positions that they weren’t prepared for, but they all did a good job.” Despite the team’s imperfect record, he remains optimistic, saying that they’ll have a good base to build off of for next season. Mr. Nestor mentioned a certain joy that can only be created through sports. He says, “I am so passionate about soccer, so to be able to see that joy and love of the game grow in some of the players was the best part.”

Teaching has been a dream for Mr. Nestor ever since he was ten years old. He says, “I really wanted to change lives and every single day I come to FA, I really only have two jobs: to teach the content and to try my very best to make a little bit of a difference.” I think the Falmouth Academy community can agree that Mr. Nestor has already begun to achieve his goal.