On the third weekend of May, the late spring coated the school in a soft, golden glow. Former Middle School Science Teacher Elliot Parivar stepped through familiar doors for an alumni reunion, the air filled with hums of laughter and conversation. A woman came up to him, smiling warmly. Parivar, reflecting on his 33-year career, felt a wave of pride as he realized this woman was one of his former students.
“She [said], ‘I’m a dermatologist in San Francisco, and I want you to become my patient,’” Parivar said. “I said, ‘I’m not in San Francisco. I’m 300 miles north of you in Humboldt County.’ She [said], ‘I don’t care. You have to come down to San Francisco. You become my patient. I will give you VIP treatment.’ So I did. I made an appointment and she was so happy. She spent 45 minutes with me in the office. These kids I taught who are now making a difference in this world. So as an educator, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Since his retirement in 2022, Parivar said he has remained connected with over 500 of his former students through social media. Parivar said he has been filled with fond memories of his former students. Now adults, they often credit him for their success and career paths. Mary*, a former student of Parivar, said to him in a personal thank-you letter shared by Parivar that he inspired her decision to pursue science.
“You have inspired so many, not only to pursue careers in STEM, but [also] to look at life with wide eyes, to question things we learn, to be lifelong learners, and to be good people,” Mary said to him. “I can’t thank you enough for starting me on my path to being a physician. If someone ever asked me about the most important teacher I ever had, it would undoubtedly be you, and I can only hope that my own children are lucky enough to be inspired by educators such as yourself.”
John Xu ’25, former student of Parivar, said Parivar left a lasting impact on him through his inspiring teaching methods.
“I had my first and only class with Dr. Parivar online in 8th grade,” Xu said. “Although confined to the borders of video boxes on zoom, he was still able to deliver a phenomenal experience in interactive and visualized sciences, helping me to grasp the introduction to multiple fields of science easily. For example, Dr. P’s encouragement enabled me to create a Rube Goldberg project that I’m still proud of to this day. He was always my biggest supporter in trying unorthodox ways to approach labs and projects.”
As a well-loved teacher, Parivar is a recipient of the Garrett Hardin Distinguished Service Award and three-time recipient of the Senior Tribute Award. However, he said he was initially nervous about his career path.
“I never taught children prior to this,” Parivar said. “I was [wondering] how this is going to work out. Am I gonna regret this decision? What if I don’t like teaching seventh or eighth graders? It was the best thing that happened to me. All of a sudden I realized, this is so much fun. These kids are so excited to be here. They’re so self motivated, smart and good people. And there I was, 33 years later, holding the same job.”
Parivar is now spending his retirement cooking, gardening, biking and traveling.
Like Parivar, former Math and Computer Science Teacher Derric Chien said he thoroughly enjoyed teaching students. As a teacher at the Upper School for six years, he now tutors students in the same subjects outside of the classroom. Chien said he is still in contact with his former colleagues and students.
“I still keep in touch with the kind of teachers who were my friends when I worked there,” Chien said. “Just recently, I went to Homecoming with some of the teachers, and I kept in touch with teachers from both the Math Department and the Science Department, and even some from the Foreign Language Department. Right now, the sophomore class that I taught when I was in my last year are seniors and I still keep in touch with some of them.”
Alexa Chang ’25, a former student of Chien, said he had a clear love for teaching and his students when he was at the school.
“You could tell how enthusiastic he was about teaching and our class in general had a really strong bond,” Chang said. “I remember how emotional he got on our last day of class [when] he shared how his professors at Berkeley inspired him to teach and wear his bow tie everyday. He sent an email to our Block 4 class, writing messages to each person in the class [and] I still have it pinned.”
Chien said students that he currently tutors, with some being students of teachers at the school, remind him of his former colleagues.
“I also like teaching in the classroom, but I also love learning about teaching by talking about it with my friends, and those are my fondest memories,” Chien said. “I taught both [math and computer science], but now I tutor in both math and science. Whenever I tutor a student, I like to ask them what teacher they have. Sometimes I [get] reminded of how that teacher taught. The students will tell me stories about how it is going in class and that brings back memories.”
Similarly, former Upper School History Department Head Dave Waterbhouse is still connected with the community at school. Also as the former tennis, basketball and mock trial coach, Waterhouse said he held multiple jobs over his 40 years of teaching at the school. He said that despite no longer being at the school, he is still in contact with his former colleagues.
“I am still in a fantasy baseball league with [Upper School History Teacher Larry] Klein and [Middle School Physical Education Teacher Robert] Ruiz, and I play golf with Ruiz,” Waterhouse said. “I keep up with what’s going on. I’m always really happy to come by and see how everything’s doing and what changes have took place.”
Although he retired in 2020, Waterhouse still keeps up with the activities of his former students. Recently, he saw a notable former student, Matt Weiner ’83, in a magazine. In an interview with the Atlantic, Weiner said Waterhouse inspired him in his job as the showrunner and creator of the TV show Mad Men.
“He said in the article that he was inspired by a class that I was teaching in which he had to portray Joseph McCarthy, and we had this debate with him,” Waterhouse said. “That was really fun because he was a good actor. He really got into the role, and he remembered that, and he said that’s why he was interested in the 1950s and why he was interested in creating the show Mad Men.”
Waterhouse said his love of teaching stems from his students.
“[Teaching is] just enjoying the students,” Waterhouse said. “So many of them are so brilliant already, and the students are so interested and smart.It was very stimulating to come to school every day and try to stay ahead of them to make sure I knew more than they did. I really had to stay at the top of my game all the time, which was very much fun every day.
*Name has been changed.
