When Chase Feher began his collegiate career at Saint Vincent College in 2012 with plans to become a pharmacist, he never thought he would graduate with a degree in Biology and his teaching certificate just a few short years later.
“When I started out at Saint Vincent I had to take a lot of chemistry and biology classes. I realized that I hated chemistry,” Chase said. “I stuck with biology, which I enjoyed, but I really didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career.”
Despite continuing his biology studies and exploring other career choices, by his senior year Chase still felt panicked about the future. After a call to mom, Chase took her advice to look into the Education program at Saint Vincent.
Chase remembered being incredibly nervous about exploring teaching, but after taking his first Education course with an inspiring teacher, he realized that it was the job for him.
“I grew up as a quiet and shy kid,” Chase said, “I never would have thought I’d be a teacher. I always thought you had to be extroverted to be a teacher, but a lot of students react well to people who are more reserved.”
Chase graduated from Saint Vincent College with his B.S. in Biology with a concentration in organismal biology and a minor in psychology in 2016. He finished his teaching certificate in 2018 after completing his student teaching at Woodland Hills High School.
“Getting in front of the kids to teach without adults there was when I knew it was for me,” Chase said. “It really was the coolest thing ever.”
Chase has been working at OLSH since 2018, teaching Biology and AP Biology.
“My experience at OLSH has been awesome. All of the teachers have been very welcoming and supportive from the beginning,” Chase said. “Even the students were welcoming and easy going my first year here.”
Chase has been an active member of the OLSH community even though this is only his third year at the school. He is involved with activities such as Basketball Club, Magic The Gathering Club, Campus Ministry’s Chi Rho Retreat, and serves as a member of the OLSH Disciplinary Board.
Most of all, Chase loves being involved with his students and supporting them in their activities.
“I enjoy doing Faculty-Student Basketball Games, making commercials on WCHR, and going to all of the students’ events,” Chase said. “It just helps build a good relationship with the students. It’s really fun that the teachers also want to make things fun for everyone. That attitude makes it easy working there.”
Family and faith are at the center of Chase’s life. He comes from a large Italian-Greek extended family and is also close with his immediate family of his parents, identical twin brother, John, and younger brother Lucas.
The family is a member of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox church in Monessen, PA where they are very involved with the church community.
Chase is in the midst of celebrating another cultural tradition as he and his fiance plan their own “big fat Greek wedding.” On December 11, 2020, Chase proposed to his girlfriend, OLSH alum Jen Haseleu ‘14, at Saint Vincent College in front of the Basilica.
“That was the one good thing to come out of 2020,” Chase said.
Some of Chase’s favorite hobbies include cooking, working out, fishing, and landscaping. Chase also enjoys making homemade wine with his family to combine his love of heritage with his love of science.
Chase is always improving his own teaching skills as he is currently pursuing his Master’s Curriculum and Instruction. Aside from the hard skills of academia, Chase really focuses on building students’ confidence and being someone who promotes mutual respect in the classroom.
“The most important thing for me is that I always try to treat the kids like people. They will step up to what you expect from them,” Chase said. “I always try to be honest and not talk down to them. Every kid is different, so I just want to make sure they feel accepted.”