Hello, beautiful people! Mr. Liu is a common favorite teacher at HSMSE because of his encouraging attitude and strong work ethic. You may know him from your AP Precalculus, Linear Algebra, or AP Calculus BC class—but do you really know him? I sat down with Mr. Liu to find out more about one of HSMSE’s most beloved teachers.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Astrid: When you were talking to Addison [for the earlier Echo article “What Did HSMSE’s Teachers Want to Be When They Grew Up”], you said that you wanted to be a financial analyst or a marine biologist, but you’re sitting in front of me here as a teacher at HSMSE. Can you share a little about how you got into teaching?

Mr. Liu: When I was a freshman at NYU, I did work study as a [teaching assistant] in the public school system. My first position was in this kindergarten class. And, you know, the kids were so adorable and everything. I enjoyed it and I did it for all my four years at NYU. The other years I worked with older students. In my senior year, obviously I had to think about, “okay, what do I want to do after college?” At that time, on the subways, they had an ad for this new way to become a teacher through New York City Teaching Fellows. I just kinda put 1 + 1 together and I said, “you know what, I have very strong math skills, and I really enjoyed working with kids.” I saw that ad as a great opportunity to get into teaching. They offered a free master’s degree, which was great because I didn’t have to pay tens of thousands of dollars. So I did that program, and the rest is history.

AC: What do you enjoy about teaching the most?

Mr. Liu: How I can hopefully have a positive influence on the young people. Right now, you’re a student, but you’re going to be someone that will impact me when I’m older. In a way, you guys will take care of me. So I want to make sure I take care of you.

AC: *heartwarmed* That’s so—yeah. That’s nice. What’s your favorite math subject to teach? 

Mr. Liu: Definitely calculus, just because it’s an actual college-level course. Everything we learn in high school is just building up, and then you finally see the actual and real-life application in calculus. I also enjoy teaching calculus because it’s honestly still a challenge for me. I like the fact that students give me these different questions that I’ve never been asked before.

AC: You have posters in rooms that you teach in that say “Don’t feel entitled to anything you didn’t sweat and struggle for.” And in some math classes, particularly Calculus BC, there’s definitely, I think, a lot of sweating and struggling that goes on. How do you keep people motivated to do their best in classes where it’s very easy to fall behind?

Mr. Liu: Yeah… that’s a tough question. I don’t know if I have a good answer to that. But I like to be as sympathetic and empathetic as possible. I’ve been literally in the same shoes as you guys—going through a specialized high school and taking BC my senior year—so I can relate. I give my students second chances with the corrections, and I do try to encourage collaboration. I just try to be as welcoming as possible, because I know it’s a tough course. It’s not for the faint of heart. 

AC: You teach a significant portion of our school’s math classes, and then you’re also a parent, and presumably you also have things to do outside of school. How do you balance the workload of being a parent, being a person, and then also teaching so much math?

Mr. Liu: It’s tough. It’s really tough. I’m still struggling to balance it. You mentioned that hopefully I have other things to do outside of that—actually, I don’t. I don’t have time. I’m teaching a new course, Linear Algebra, that I’ve never taught before… I find that the majority of my planning time is typing up my slides for my Linear Algebra class. I really don’t have much personal time, except for the half hour at night before I go to sleep where I can just zone out on my phone and read. Because, you know, my priority is to be a good dad, but also to be a responsible teacher. I take education seriously because I want you guys to be the best that you can be. It’s tough, being a parent and carrying all this. There’s no formula to balance it all.

AC: If you had more time—infinity unlimited time—would you say that [your hobbies] would be non-math related, relaxing stuff?

Mr. Liu: Yeah, totally. I love hiking. I love traveling around the world, I love immersing myself in different cultures… and trying different foods. I’m a foodie. I’m an amateur photographer, and when I travel, I love to take pictures of everything. Those are things that I look forward to. Traveling, eating, hiking, and taking pictures. Those are my main four. 

AC: Where would be your favorite place that you’ve traveled to so far? 

Mr. Liu: I’ve actually been to around 50 countries already. And I’m not even 50 yet. I’ve been to more than one country per year, on average. Not everyone has that opportunity, so I know I’m very fortunate. I have a lot of places that I really enjoy. I’ve been to Turkey, I love going to Turkey… I’ve been to Iceland, I love Iceland. I’ve hiked Mount Kilimanjaro. That was a wonderful experience. I hiked this volcano in Guatemala—that was an experience, seeing the volcano actually erupt on the hiking trail. 

AC: Wow. Whenever I go to a new place, I like to go to a park, and I also like to collect magnets to show that I’ve been there. What’s something that you do, or try to do, in every country that you go to?

Mr. Liu: Photography. I try to keep my carbon footprint small, so I like to just take pictures. I used to [buy souvenirs like most people], but then I realized that they were just gathering dust, you know? I didn’t have room to display them. So I was thinking “well, what can I do on every trip that’s very low-key, but also brings enjoyment?” I was like, “oh, yeah, photography!” And then the other thing that I always like to do is—similar to you—I like to buy one magnet that represents that city or that place that I’ve been to. I have this gigantic clock that’s also a magnet platform right above my staircase leading to the second floor. Every time I go down, I see [the magnets], and it just kind of makes me happy.

AC: I’m not allowed to put magnets on the fridge right now, but when I have my own house and I have my own fridge, I’m going to put all of my magnets on it. So, going back to marine biology… I really like certain marine animals like sharks and mantis shrimp. What’s your favorite marine animal?

Mr. Liu: One fascination I have is with giant squids. Something about them is frightening, but just so… amazing at the same time. My first experience ever was when I was a kid, in the American Museum of Natural History. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen that diorama, with the giant squid and the sperm whale—when I first saw it, I was freaked out! It was scary, and it had an indelible mark on me. I really wanted to know about this weird creature that was attacking the sperm whale. Like, “what’s this creature with all these long arms and tentacles?”

AC: I think it has the largest eye in nature or something like that. “Giant squid” is pretty… pretty accurate to what they are. Mentally, I like them. Physically, I don’t think I would ever want to be around one.

Mr. Liu: I would freak out! Honestly, I would freak out. We’ve yet to catch one alive I think, but theoretically if there was one in an aquarium I would be really scared to approach the display.

AC: You know the feeling that surfers get when they see a giant 100-foot-tall wave? That would be [how I would feel] if I were faced with a giant squid. Like, this is awesome, but I’m gonna die. For sure. Um, okay. I have two more questions. Is there anything you want to tell the students at HSMSE?

Mr. Liu: The staff is full of quirky individuals, [which I think] makes us interesting and special. Also, I just want the students to know that despite how weird the staff is and how dissimilar some of our personalities are, we all love our students. We all appreciate you. And just know that, even if—especially if—we’re tough on you, it’s because we love you. We want you guys to do well and succeed.

AC: It can be hard to remember that when you’re taking 20 million tough classes and you’re stressed out all the time. People [start to think] that teachers are trying to make their life harder. And I’m sure that teachers sometimes feel the same way when they have a ton of students. But in the end, everyone’s doing their best. 

Mr. Liu: Yeah, and just remember, we’re all human, right? We’re all part of one society at large. We’re all citizens of Earth. We’re all here to hopefully have everyone lead a better life. But it takes all of us together to make that happen. So, uh, we’re all on the same team.

Astrid: And is there any question that you would like me to answer? 

Mr. Liu: Why did you choose me?

Astrid: When I came into [Calculus BC], I was not prepared at all. I was ready to give up on math. But you’re a really motivating teacher, so I felt like, “no, I can actually do this.” It’s obviously not easy to catch up when you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, but it’s possible. If you do the sweating and the struggling, you’ll eventually see the results. Um, so that’s why I think you’re a great teacher and why I wanted to interview you. 

Mr. Liu: Oh, thank you! But I love your attitude. It’s about hope, right? It’s about being able to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to do the work to walk towards the light.