Teacher Interview: Mr. Owens

Written by: Emily Moretz

Mr. Owens, a relatively new teacher at our school, was chosen for this season’s "Teacher Interview" Buzz article. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Mr. Owens studied business in college, graduating in 2009. Afterward, he moved to Spain to teach English for a couple of years. Although teaching wasn’t originally part of his plan, this experience sparked his passion for education. He realized that teaching was the career he wanted to pursue. He began his teaching journey in the fall of 2017 and has been in the classroom for eight years. His decision to teach Spanish came from a deep love for the language he developed in high school, thanks to an inspiring teacher. After returning from Spain, he wanted to share that same love and cultural appreciation with others, and teaching Spanish became one of the ways he could achieve this goal. 

At Country Day, Mr. Owens has taken on a significant role in the Spanish department, teaching Spanish 3, Spanish 4, AP Spanish Language, Spanish Conversation, and Spanish Cinema. He prefers teaching Upper School Spanish because he enjoys focusing on conversation rather than grammar. When asked what he would teach if he couldn’t teach Spanish, he mentioned history or something related to international policy or development.

In addition to his teaching role, Mr. Owens is also the Upper School girls’ tennis coach. His journey into coaching started when he was asked to help out with the JV girls' tennis team at his previous school, despite having little experience with tennis. When the head coach left, Mr. Owens found himself thrust into the position of head coach. His first season as head coach was cut short due to the pandemic, but it sparked a new passion for the sport. Since then, he has dedicated himself to improving his tennis skills, becoming quite good in a short amount of time. While Mr. Owens played other sports growing up, including baseball and wiffle ball, tennis has since become his favorite.

Mr. Owens is a passionate Spanish teacher and tennis coach who has a unique way of inspiring his students to love both the Spanish language and the often challenging sport of tennis. His enthusiasm for both subjects creates an exciting, dynamic environment where learning about either can become the highlight of a student or athlete's day.