In His Element: Douglas Zhu

As he stepped back into the classrooms of Stuyvesant High School, Douglas Zhu returned to his alma mater to teach AP Chemistry, bringing with him the unique perspective of a former student turned faculty member.

Name: Douglas Zhu

Subject: Chemistry

Did you always think you’d return to teach at Stuyvesant, or was this a surprise career turn?

I think it was definitely a pleasant surprise for me because one thing that I’ve heard about Stuy—mostly from [Chemistry teacher Kristyn] Pluchino, who I’d kept in contact with for many years—was that teachers at Stuy tend to stay at Stuy until they retire. So I wasn’t really looking forward to a job at Stuy; I just didn’t expect openings to come up. But I got lucky when one of the teachers retired, and the position opened for me. When I found out I got the job after the interview process, that was honestly one of the happiest days of my life.

What made you decide to teach chemistry specifically? Was there a teacher or class here that sparked that interest?

I would say that it came in stages. The first time I began to think about chemistry as a serious college major was probably when I had Dr. Jeffrey Kivi for Chemistry first semester [of my] sophomore year. That’s when I found something that I thought I was actually pretty good at at Stuy. I was like, “Oh my God, this is coming a little naturally to me. This is good!” 

Second semester, I had a teacher who no longer teaches here, Mr. Dibbs, and he was just like the craziest teacher I’ve ever had; he was so entertaining. He kept a cup of coffee at the front of the room and told us that he would drink it at the end of the semester, and he kept his word. He actually drank that cup of coffee at the end of the semester! So that was when I knew that eventually I’d end up doing something involving [chemistry]. When I took Advanced Chem Lab and AP Chem in my senior year, that’s when I knew: I’m definitely going to major in [chemistry] in college. And those classes helped prepare me a lot for that, eventually, when I did go to college.

As for the teaching part, it’s because I did a bunch of tutoring and teaching while I was in college, and I really liked doing that. So I decided to combine the two likes that I had into one career.

What’s something you try to give your own students that you felt you didn’t get enough of as a Stuyvesant student?

I think when I was a Stuy student, the vast majority of my teachers were a generation apart from me. Through no fault of their own, obviously, I found it a little more difficult to connect with them because of that fact. I’m gonna try, at least while I still can, to connect with my students on a more pop-culture level, because a lot of my interests end up being the same interests as my students for now. Eventually, later on in my career, that may not be the case, but right now, I’m trying to make that happen while I still can.

What’s your favorite part about teaching here?

My favorite part about teaching here is how supportive the administration is of me and also how engaged the students are. I really think that in order for a school to be a good place for a teacher to work, the administration really needs to have a certain attitude. Yes, obviously, if students are engaged and they actually care about the topics that teachers are teaching, it makes the teacher’s life easier. But at the end of the day, when teachers sign up to be a teacher, part of what we sign up for is dealing with students [who] might not enjoy our class. That’s just part of the career; that’s part of the job. What we didn’t sign up for is dealing with disrespectful administration, and I’m lucky enough to be at a place where I feel personally, for me, that isn’t the case. I’m very happy to be here.

What would a “good day” look like for you as a teacher?

I would have all my materials ready at the beginning of the day, and the kids would ask me good questions. When I’m giving my lesson, I want there to be lots of interaction, a lot of good questions. I just want to make sure that I’m contributing something [to] everyone’s lives every day. I don’t want the day to be a waste. The days when people are working the whole time, they’re engaged with the content, they’re asking good questions, those are the good days.

How often would you say you have those good days?

I think most days are like that. There are some where the timing is wrong, and we might finish a unit a little quickly, so I end up having to do a little bit of filler content. It’s those days where I’m like, “Maybe I could have planned a little better, you know?” There’s always room for improvement. I’m still pretty early in my career, so I have many, many years to fix that.

Can you tell us a little more about your younger years? Where did you grow up, and what did you love to do as a child?

I was born in China, but I moved to the U.S. when I was four or five years old. I went to P.S. 124 in Chinatown, where I did a lot of stuff involving chess. Right now, I wouldn’t consider myself that good at chess—I’m average. But I’m okay at chess, and that was my extracurricular back when I was in elementary school. 

In middle school, I was going through a transitional period. I didn’t really have any extracurriculars, to be honest. Stuy was where I really discovered my two main extracurriculars, which were running track and being a part of the chorus. So those were my two favorite things to do at Stuy.

In terms of hobbies, besides extracurriculars, I like playing video games. I’ve been playing them since I was a kid, so even now, for downtime, whenever I’m done with my duties as a teacher, as a husband—all that—I usually just end up playing video games.

If you could go back and give your high school self advice, what would you say?

I would say that Bitcoin hits $120K. And I think my high school self would take me seriously, save up every penny, invest in Bitcoin, and maybe by now, I’d have a fund of some sort to buy cool stuff with.

What role did track play in your life at Stuy, and how did it shape you?

In the first semester when I was a freshman at Stuy, I wasn’t part of track. I honestly felt lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But after I joined track in the second semester, I felt like that injected a lot of purpose in my life. Even if I was mediocre at school, which, you know, I’m going to admit I was, track allowed me to exist for the betterment of myself, instead of just for the sole purpose of school. And it’s purely self-driven motivation. Back when I was at Stuy, I didn’t feel that same way towards academics. I [went to] school because my parents told me I had to [go to] school. I hadn’t found that intrinsic love of education yet, but I think being part of the track team gave me something to look forward to every day. I joined during outdoor season, and I started off doing mainly the 200-meter dash, but as time went on—sophomore, junior, senior year—I expanded a little bit into the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, and triple jump.

What is your favorite subway station and subway line?

My favorite subway station would probably have to be one of the newer stations on the Q line. I would say 96th, or 86th, or 72nd—I just think their design is very modern, very neat. I hope they continue that format, going down to the Second Avenue line when they eventually get finished with it.

My favorite subway line, I would say, has to be the 7 train. I've taken the 7 train a few times, even as someone who doesn’t live in Queens. I really like the 7 line because so much of it is outdoors, and every station has its own personality. I think it passes through so many different ethnic neighborhoods. It’s great.

What subject did you struggle the most with as a student here, and what was your grade in that class?

I would say that’s a tie between two subjects: Spanish and Computer Science. I actually think it kind of makes sense that I would struggle with those two, because in a way, they’re both new languages. So maybe my brain just isn’t wired very well to learn new languages.

What molecule or element do you think you would be?

Honestly, I feel like one of the alkali metals. I’m quite loud; I’m not someone who a lot of people would describe as a quiet, reserved individual. When I speak, I speak quite loudly, just like how the alkali metals react quite loudly.

What video games do you play?

I play PC video games. Right now, I’m playing this war simulation game called War Thunder. It's a game where you get to fire airplanes. It’s not too popular; it’s not like a mainstream game, like Call of Duty or anything like that. But I enjoy it. I also play Grand Theft Auto Online. It's a game that you guys should not be playing because, technically, it’s rated M for Mature. But that game is also a way for you to do illegal activities in the virtual world without doing them in the real world. So overall, I think there’s a fun aspect to that too.

If you weren’t teaching AP Chemistry, what class would you teach purely for fun?

Physical Education, because it’s a really fun job, and you get the same benefits as a subject teacher.

Who was your top artist on Spotify Wrapped?

Sabrina Carpenter

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

The Dark Knight (2008)

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

“Toxic” by Britney Spears

What’s your favorite cuisine?

Korean BBQ