Richard Harris, is our new Middle School PE teacher who just joined us this year. He arrived in Egypt shortly before the start of the new school year, and immediately felt that this was the right choice. Harris’s athletic life began with his love for soccer and football, and a lifelong passion for watching every other sport possible. He has travelled the world pursuing a career in his passion for sports. Rich has spent three years in Doha, five years in London, and another three years in Saudi Arabia. After 11 fruitful years, he went back to the states with his wife. That was when the lure of overseas life beckoned and they started looking to explore other overseas opportunities. Soon enough, Rich and his wife were both very excited to find themselves heading to Egypt and becoming part of the ϰϲʹ community.
The PE teacher explained that he first heard about the vacancy through online search platforms. When he saw our school name, he remembered hearing a lot of good remarks about the school, back when he was in Doha. Some of the current faculty members were also friends of Harris’s who he got in touch with for recommendations. Once again, ϰϲʹ was highly recommended for its wonderful community.
“Before coming here, my wife and I were looking for a nice place overseas where we could stay for around 5 years. On the first day we arrived here, we knew we made the right decision,” said Rich.
He further added how welcomed he felt by the staff and faculty members who have been friendly and supportive, the parents who are receptive and welcoming, as well as the students who come from so many different places and backgrounds, and have so much to share with each other.
When we asked him about what he likes to do in his time outside of school, he said, “ I love the fact that there is so much to see, so much history, so much to do - I love playing golf and I was surprised to learn that I have several great options here to do that.”
Harris is originally from Oklahoma, United States, but has been an international educator moving around the world for a long time. One of the first sites he visited when he first came here was, of course, the Great Pyramids of Giza. He was fascinated by this place, which is one of the 7 wonders of the world. “Looking out from my apartment, I can sometimes see the Pyramids which is just incredible!” he added.
One of his best memories in the school so far was on his very first day of school. The first day of school happened to also be his birthday. He was very touched and heartened when all the middle-schoolers gathered in the lawn to sing Happy Birthday to him.
The family of two still have a great deal of exploring to do around the country. “We cannot wait to start exploring the Red Sea, perhaps soon in the winter break!” noted Harris. At ϰϲʹ, we are always looking to hear back from our faculty and staff to learn more about how best to integrate them into our family, as we are after all, one family.