Freshman English Teacher Mr. John Havel recently joined the Jesuit High School Sacramento faculty, and with 23 years of teaching under his belt, he is certainly qualified for the position.  

One of Mr. Havel’s main goals is to connect with people on a large scale, which teaching enables him to do.

“I wanted to interact with people,” Mr. Havel said. “I wanted to do something where I could impact the largest amount of people possible. Teaching was a job where I was able to reach those people. It suits my personality, and it will allow me to do some good in the world.”

Mr. Havel became a teacher because of his early experiences in a tutoring program for kids at Loyola University New Orleans. In this program, he was able to grab the attention of his students in a way that the other tutors struggled to do.

“Whenever I talked to a large amount of them, they would listen,” Mr. Havel said. “The other volunteers would talk and the kids would talk over them and it was like I had a calling. I felt like I had a vocation to make these young children focus on the things I was saying.”

One of Mr. Havel’s students, Matthew Odell ’28, has seen Mr. Havel’s ability to keep his students engaged while teaching the material thoroughly.

“He keeps us all engaged and having fun in his class,” Matthew said. “Mr. Havel does a good job of helping us understand the material and teaching us how to be at our best. He understands the difference between someone struggling with an assignment and someone being lazy; [he]holds us accountable.”

English Department Chair Ms. Jennifer Borasi noticed Mr. Havel’s gifts, which makes him a great fit as an English teacher here at Jesuit.

“Mr. Havel stood out as a candidate because of his impressive philosophy on teaching, his creative approaches to teaching writing, his innovative lesson plans, and his willingness to collaborate and work within a team,” Ms. Borasi said.

Mr. Havel has always had a love for writing. Over the years he’s used that passion to foster his love for reading.

“I have a little secret as an English teacher: I actually love writing way more than I love reading,” Mr. Havel said. “My love of writing has made me develop my love for reading. In order to be a better writer, you have to be a quality reader.” 

With his unique teaching experiences, Mr. Havel is a great addition to the Jesuit English department. With his love for writing and his engaging teaching style, Mr. Havel is sure to leave impactful marks on all of his English students’ academic careers.