2 September 2020
To strengthen our social media platforms, we are running a feature entitled “Meet a Meteor.”
We will try to run this feature on a consistent basis so that you will get to know more about a member of the De La Salle faculty and staff.
Today, we are featuring Chris Wood, who is beginning his 30th year teaching at our school.
Chris will be teaching Honors Church History, Church History, Ancient Civilizations, Honors World Religions and World Religions during the 2020-21 school year.
Chris also is the proud dad of Megan ’13 and Caroline ’19. Megan was the valedictorian for the Class of 2013 while Caroline won the St. John Baptist de La Salle Award for the Class of 2019.
Enjoy meeting Chris…
How did you end up at De La Salle?
I came to Chicago in 1988 while participating in the Christian Brothers’ formation program and transferred from Rockhurst Jesuit College in Kansas City to Lewis University in Romeoville.
In 1990, I did my student-teaching at ‘D’ under Mr. Anthony Passi ‘84 and was hired the following year to fill a vacated Theology position. I was hired by Principal Jim Gay at the behest of Brother Kevin Fitzgerald, FSC, who proclaimed, ‘Hire this man…now!’
What are the greatest rewards of teaching overall?
I love to be with people, and I love to learn new content and share it with others. I enjoy challenging others to grow, and I welcome being challenged.
What else could I be?
What do you like best about our De La Salle students?
What you see, is generally what you get. Our kids are vulnerable, yet strong. Our kids grow up fast, but still have a playful nature. Our kids have been dealt some tough circumstances, yet still hope for a positive future. Our kids can at times seem to be distant, but they want to be accepted and approved.
Our students have taught me that resilience and hope is alive and well in the young people of this generation. I love our kids.
How proud a Dad are you that Megan and Caroline did so well at De La Salle and are doing well for themselves after graduation?
I am beyond proud. Both of my daughters chose to attend De La Salle because they grew up in the building and already felt like this place was their home. They went to several open houses and attended other high school’s shadow days, but ‘D’ just felt right for both of them.
The experiences they were allowed while attending ‘D’ helped transform them into the wonderful young women they have become. The dedication and concern of their many teachers, administrators and staff workers has had a profound influence on both of them.
They also made lifelong friends with some very special classmates with whom they spent four years here at ‘D.’
You’re able to have dinner with three people to whom you are not related. Your choices are…
Jesus and Buddha, just to make sure they are both on the same page as much as they appear to be, and Abraham Lincoln because he is my favorite American president.
What do you like to do away from the classroom?
Even though I am an extrovert by nature, I really do enjoy quiet, private time to meditate and think about my life…I would like to try being a professional landscape gardener.
I feel very much at home in nature and nurturing it, which in turn, nurtures me.
#WeAreD
