When choosing the most influential person in his life, Mr. Barrick didn’t have to think long. “My mom,” Barrick said. “She instilled the virtues of patience, kindness, modesty, and a strong work ethic in me as a child, as well as a love for the outdoors.”

Barrick, the fall teaching assistant for Mrs. Boyd, was very athletic and loving as a child. His dream was to become the starting middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears. However, he said that learning has always been his passion and that he feels inspired when in academics, so he always saw teaching in his future.

Barrick graduated from Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Some of his fondest memories were when he played soccer as a four year starter in college. Barrick lived with his family in a small, rural area near Chicago. It was miles from any city, so most of what he did was swim, build forts, and play in the prairie with his brothers. He was born in Dekalb, Illinois, about 60 miles west of Chicago.

Barrick and his wife like to travel, so he has been to places such as Australia, Japan, Dominican Republic, Morocco, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, and South Korea. One place that he has not been but that is on his bucket list is St. Petersburg, Russia because his favorite author is Fyodor Dostoevsky, a Russian philosopher and novelist.

“The best thing about teaching is witnessing the seed of knowledge grow inside the mind of a student,” Barrick said. “Watching as a student’s cognitive horizons expand is amazingly rewarding.” Barrick noted that something he has done in his life that is worth telling about is teaching at Canyon Vista. He said that the intellectual curiosity of the students has amazed him, as well as the faculty and staff’s commitment to academic excellence.

Even though his time at Canyon Vista was only for a semester, Barrick was thankful to be here. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have been placed in Mrs. Boyd’s sixth grade science class at CVMS for my student teaching practicum. I couldn’t have asked for a better school and cooperating teacher. It will be hard to say goodbye to my students, but I am looking forward to starting my career in education and having a class of my own! Go Mustangs!!!”