Grossman, Mark

By Kate Selby

Mark Grossman, 28, is excited about his first year of teaching. He was born in Silver Spring, but Grossman grew up in Bexley, Ohio where he attended high school there. He returned to Maryland to attend Goucher College in Baltimore where he majored in European Colonial History and minored in economics. He enjoys gardening, swimming, reading, and playing guitar. However, despite these ordinary hobbies, his life has been nothing of the sort.

Grossman is new not only to Blair, but to teaching as well. He last worked as an environmental advocate/ lobbyist, but grew tired of the monotonous office routine. He had been a substitute at local schools and thoroughly enjoyed it, so he decided to give teaching a try. Now he is glad he made the switch to the more enjoyable occupation. "It's a lot of fun," he said, adding that his favorite part about teaching is observing the changes in his students. "It's amazing to see people grow," said Grossman.

Grossman has not spent all of his life in an office, though. He spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia decontaminating water. He said that although this was very exciting, the most interesting thing he has done was his work on a farm in Ohio, where he grew vegetables and grains such as corn, soybeans, oats, and rye.

Although Grossman spent much of his time in Bolivia and on the farm, he also had led a personal life. His most embarrassing moment was his experience with a girl he was dating named Florence who was from California. They had made plans to spend the year together travel the country in a Volkswagen bus named "Hannah," but the relationship was not working out. Because of increased tension Florence drove him to a greyhound bus stop, which she called a "dog pound," and he had to return home and had to explain to his friends and family why he was home months early.

Grossman thinks of himself as a down to Earth person. "I like to hang out with friends, take long naps, eat beets, and I enjoy silence," he said.

After having had many remarkably experiences, Grossman has found a satisfying and rewarding occupation, and already has had many remarkable experiences. "I am happy with what I'm doing," he said.