Faculty Spotlight: Nate Heppner
La Jolla Country Day School exists to inspire greatness for a better world. Our brand promise commits to developing a culture and community of faculty, staff, students and families who believe in something bigger than themselves. Below Middle School English teacher Nate Heppner speaks to how he inspires greatness.
Greatness can be achieved by actions both big and small. Greatness is not luck or an accident, it is achieved through a process. Research has shown that the most successful people in the world were not smarter than their counterparts in their field, but they possessed four common distinctions to help them achieve greatness.
- Strong work ethic
- Person of character
- Ability to access and leverage mentors
- A desire to challenge the status quo and ask “what if?” or “why not?”
Nate Heppner grew up in Palmer, Alaska. He is a 1998 graduate of Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. He taught for two years in Portland, Ore., and one year at Crawford High School before coming to La Jolla Country Day School. He could hardly believe his luck to arrive at a school where the curriculum includes “Ender’s Game,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Romeo and Juliet,” plus trips to Catalina Island and Sequoia National Park.
Mr. Heppner has been teaching Middle School English and coaching the Upper School swim team at LJCDS since the 2002–2003 school year. In addition, he teaches public speaking as a first-trimester elective for seventh- and eighth-graders.
