New Spanish teacher at Naugatuck High School, Richard Troy, has big shoes to fill. When asked why he chose to come to Naugatuck, Troy responded, “I always wanted to come back to school here. It is where I grew up, it is where I went to school.” Troy previously taught at Foran High School in Milford before making the change to Naugatuck.

Troy, a veteran, never knew he was going to be a teacher. He said his first career choice was becoming a fighter pilot. When he changed his mind about that goal, he turned to the Army and served our country. It wasn’t until Troy worked with an inner city program called Leap when he was inspired to become an educator. While working with Leap, a man thanked Troy for his work and told him to make sure he keeps those kids off the streets. It was at that moment when Troy knew helping out kids was his calling.

Before Mr. Troy began his teaching career, he served in the Army. He had a total of three tours during his years in the Army. Two of his tours were in Afghanistan and one in Bosnia.

Troy, in his first year as a Spanish teacher at Naugy, said he picked the subject Spanish due to his experience with the language. His best friend in basic training was from Puerto Rico and they spoke spanish all the time. After serving in the Army, Troy worked in a factory in Prospect where a lot of the guys spoke spanish. After all his years of speaking Spanish, he wanted to pursue his career as a Spanish teacher.

One month into the school year and Troy has already fallen in love with his job. When asked about his first impression, Troy responded, “The kids are great, they are hard workers, and they have a lot of school spirit.” Troy has connected with the students so far and that has certainly helped him ease into his new job. He has attended at a lot of the football games and showed what school spirit he has. To end his interview, Troy said he is excited for a great year and a great career at Naugy, and we here at Naugatuck High School are very excited to have him.