Chatting with Mr. Jagiello

Last Friday, I had the honor of interviewing one of the most interesting men on campus, Mr. Jagiello. The normally private man discussed growing up in Wisconsin, his cycling career, and much more fascinating information about his life. Below is a transcript of our conversation. Enjoy!

Nate: What is a random memory from your childhood?

Mr. Jagiello: Playing in the snow in a suburb on Milwaukee, Wisconsin called New Berlin. My favorite activity was to build little snow igloo forts.

N: When you were in high school, what did you think you would end up doing with your life?

J: I didn’t know, which is why I think when you think you know, or we tell you that you have to know what you are going to go on and do [later in life] when you’re sophomores and juniors in high school, that’s a tough call. I changed my major probably four times.

N: Sticking with the high school theme, what hairstyle did Mr. J sport in high school?

J: Well, I had hair! I don’t know if it was a style, I just had some.

N: That’s different.

J: Yeah, I know, it was just such a long time ago that I don’t remember.

N: What drew you to North Dakota State University?

J: It was free… I knew I needed to go to college for free. I had a few different choices, and I chose North Dakota State.

N: Did you play basketball there?

J: Yes, I did.

N: What former or current NBA player would you compare yourself to?

J: Well, none, because if I could, I’d still be playing basketball. Or I’d be a retired NBA basketball player. I was a guard in high school, and I was a guard in college.

N: Similar to the childhood question, what is a random memory from your college days?

J: I remember more basketball games that we lost than we won. I remember a very big game that we lost on Valentine’s Day at home against a conference rival; I remember that game more than any game that I played, the one we lost. It’s the one you remember, you don’t remember wins.

N: When did you get into cycling?

J: Third game of my senior year in college, I had a season ending knee injury. Got hurt in a game, had surgery the next day. I was out for a year, and during that rehabilitation time is when I purchased my first bike, and used it as part of my rehab. Then, I got into biking, I started racing, and I still ride and race.

N: What would you say that your greatest cycling triumph is?

J: Oh, the first race I won. It was in ’93, here in Arizona. Out at South Mountain.

N: How old were you when you won that race?

J: Haha, I’d have to do the math. 23, 24, somewhere around there.

N: In college, what did you get a degree in?

J: Kinesiology.

N: And what did you do with that kinesiology degree right out of college?

J: I moved to Boston, and worked in a few different rehabilitation hospitals.

N: When did you decide to leave that career and get into teaching?

J: I don’t know. In the back of my head I always wanted, always felt like I should teach. Rehab got a little boring, you get bogged down in paperwork, insurance paperwork, billing, and all that kind of stuff. I didn’t really feel like I was doing what I wanted to do. So, I thought, I want to be a teacher.

N: Where did you start teaching?

J: I started at Gilbert High, but I spent most of my time at Mesquite High School.

N: What is the biggest difference between ACP and the larger, more traditional high schools?

J: I can look at ACP students and think you are kind of like all-stars of the team. Think about the progression. So, say you’re a good high school basketball player and you get to go to college. Well, don’t they pick the best high school basketball players to go to college? And then, if you go from college to pros, aren’t those even the best of that best? And so it starts to get thinned out as you go along, so if we were to pick the all-star academic students from the bigger high schools around here and throw them all into one school, isn’t that what ACP is?

N: What is the biggest value you try to teach students?

J: Just to work hard, try to work something out. Work hard and problem solve. That’s what chemistry teaches.

N: Alright, and what is the biggest value that students have taught you?

J: To keep a sense of humor.

N: A couple more quick questions. There is a rumor that you do not own a cell phone. Is that true?

J: I will say, I do own an old flip phone, but I never have it on, or with me. And I don’t know the number to it. I never answer my home phone, why would I want to carry around a phone that I don’t answer?

N: What kind of dogs do you own?

J: We have four dogs, and they’re all just mix-breed mutts. There’s a lab-mix, a poodle-mix, a pitbull-mix, and a chihuahua-mix.

N: That’s fun, they’ll keep you busy.

J: Haha, yes it does.

N: Last question: if you could have a billboard somewhere, a billboard to display to the world, what does it say? Anything you want, a message to the world.

J: [long pause] I’ve got nothing for that one. It would be a blank billboard, like my social media presence. There it is. Is that all?

N: Yes it is, thank you very much Mr. J.