MEET DEREK

SARASOTA COUNTY BORN & RAISED

I was born in Sarasota, then raised in Venice and North Port. During my childhood, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by such great teachers and mentors. They gave me the knowledge needed to be a productive citizen and man. Consequently, from high school on, I knew I was destined to become an educator. I had to be there to mentor the next generation of young people as the previous generation had done for me.

After graduating high school, I worked as a Publix cashier while being a full-time college student. During this time, I attended Florida State University where I went on to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Social Science Education in 2018, and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2020. As a result of my determination to balance working and learning full-time, I graduated with no student loan debt.

My teaching career began as a full-time teaching intern at Brookside Middle School in Sarasota during my final semester of college (Spring 2018). I taught a student population where more than 50% of my students had a learning disability of some kind. I performed so well in the classroom that the principal of Brookside Middle School requested that FSU graduate me early, so I could be appointed to a full-time teaching position at Brookside for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year. FSU did and consequently so did I.

After the completion of my time at Brookside, I decided I wanted to serve a student population most needing the support my teachers provided me. Therefore, I accepted a teaching position at Freedom High School in Orlando for the 2018-2019 school year. I taught 12th grade US Government to a student population 80% non-white, and a majority of whom were English-Language Learners. I would go on to have the privilege of mentoring countless great young people, being awarded "New Teacher of the Month", and having test scores higher than projected.

At the conclusion of the 2018-2019 school year, I was determined to be an even better teacher. Therefore, I moved back home to Sarasota County to focus on finishing my Master's degree. I did this while substitute teaching part-time in Sarasota County during the 2019-2020 school year. Upon the completion of my master's degree, I went back into the classroom full-time starting with the 2020-2021 school year, where I currently teach at Sarasota High School. At Sarasota High, I teach 12th grade US Government and Economics. One of my greatest passions in my current position is promoting both financial and civic literacy to each of my students. As I want to ensure the next generation of Americans are ready to successfully take the baton from the previous.

My passion for education and the next generation is why I am running to be your State Representative.