Profile: Mr. Devlin
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- Hometown: Brookfield, CT
- Education: Immaculate High School, Danbury; Manhattan College, Western Connecticut State, University of Vermont
- Family:Married for 30 years to wife Melody, 24-year-old daughter Shauna, 19- year- old daughter Danielle
- Favorite Sports Team: Basketball: New Jersey Nets and UCONN women's basketball
- Favorite Food: A good hamburger, tea, tempeh, baba ghanoush
Over the past 21 years, Mr William E. Devlin had been teaching at DHS where he is known and loved by all students. His friendly mustached face can always be seen, eager and willing to teach the students something new. This is perhaps Mr. Devlin’s finest quality: The fact that he loves teaching.
Mr. Devlin’s teaching career began at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. “One year I was asked to fill in because a teacher had gone on a sabbatical. I enjoyed the experience so much that I immediately got involved in a program called Alternate Routes Certification,” Mr. Devlin said.
The program allowed him to become a certified teacher in just one year. Soon after he applied to DHS, he was taken on as a history teacher. But what has made Mr. Devlin such an important educator over the years is his absolute love of teaching. “There are four things that I really love about teaching,” Mr. Devlin said, “1. I love seeing when kids make a connection to something I’m teaching and understand what I am telling them. 2. I like the creative energy I get from teaching at DHS. 3. I really like the people I work with. It is my philosophy that it is important to have friends around you wherever you go. 4. I never feel like I’m not doing something important everyday.”
All of his students appreciate Mr. Devlin’s devotion. “Mr. Devlin is the man,” junior Robbie Schindler said. “He is an effective teacher and a really nice guy.”
There are a number of things that set him apart from other teachers at DHS. For one thing, Mr. Devlin has written a book. It is called: “We Crown Them All: An Illustrated History of Danbury.” The book was written while Mr. Devlin was working at the Danbury Scott-Fanton Museum and Historical Society as a curatorial assistant. The book is now available in the DHS library, and he recommends everybody read it.
Also, nobody can deny that Mr. Devlin has an outstanding moustache. “My moustache was inspired by my grandfather,” Mr. Devlin said. “My father always talked about how well-liked he was, which made me want to grow one in high school. My wife likes it, so I have had one ever since.”
His students love the moustache too. “He definitely has one of the top moustaches in the school, if not the best,” sophomore Elizabeth Billeter said. Another interesting thing about Mr. Devlin is that he rides a bike to school. It can always be seen parked outside of the side entrance of the school, where he rides it to and from the train station everyday. “It is 25-years-old,” Mr. Devlin said. “It gets a tune-up every year, and the mechanic always hates it when I bring it in.”
There are two fun facts about Mr. Devlin that not a lot of people know. The first is the fact that he went to the original Woodstock festival in 1969. “I went for the first day, and the traffic was so bad I had to leave the car and walk 17 miles,” Mr. Devlin said. “My favorite performance was Jefferson Airplane, because I was too far away for any of the other shows.” The second is that he plays wooden flute in a traditional Irish folk band called the Sean Rog. (Shamrocks in Gaelic).
It is obvious that Mr. Devlin is loved by all of his students. “Mr. Devlin is one of my favorite teachers; his moustache really gets me through the day,” sophomore Kevin Cassidy said.” His unique style and the joy he shows while teaching make him an unforgettable mentor to any of his students.
