Meet the New Faculty: Todd Meyer CdeP 2000

Todd Meyer is a new faculty member in Thacher’s Mathematics Department, teaching Robotics and Computer Science. Although Meyer is new to teaching at Thacher, he is certainly not new to the Thacher community. Both his parents, Kurt and Alice Meyer, were long-time Thacher teachers and highly involved in various aspects of Thacher’s community. 

Meyer grew up on campus and in the Ojai area. CdeP of the class of 2000, Meyer had a robust, real-world experience working at tech companies before teaching. Eventually, he noticed that his favorite parts of his job were the moments he spent mentoring younger colleagues. Today, Meyer dreams big about Thacher’s future, both in and out of the classroom. Just ask him about the research he is doing into potential ways to turn everyday plastic items into reusable materials in the Gates Fab Lab!
 

“My Dad taught Computer Science at Thacher in the late 1990s when I was a student here, and I decided to take Computer Science in my senior year, which was my first introduction to [to it]. I really liked the class and decided to take an Introduction to Java class in college. I knew right away that I had found what I wanted to major in; I liked the problem-solving aspects of Computer Science and I still love the feeling of writing code to start to figure out how all of the pieces you’re working on fit together and then eventually you’re able to solve what you’re working on or trying to get a computer to do. Something I always say in my Computer Science class is that Java has 50 reserved words (by comparison, English has tens of thousands of words); but with Java’s 50 words, you can make a program that powers the Mars rover. You can also use Java in creative ways such as building Minecraft. Computer Science really is both a science and an art or creation process that I find to be really fun.”

“I had been working at tech companies and tech startups for the last 15 years and had some really interesting jobs with fascinating companies, but, over time, I found that the most interesting parts of my job became the times when I was working with younger colleagues who wanted mentorship or when I was in more of an educational position within the company. Eventually, I started to think about transitioning to teaching and talking with all of the current and former teachers in my life about what teaching is really like. The more I learned, the more excited I became. I started by teaching some test classes to see how I would feel and what I would enjoy and I have found teaching to be really fun and exciting; I love it!”

“My biggest hobby is my kids. I have three kids and they are wonderful. They are all interested in different things and that keeps me excited about the new stuff that they are working on. I also enjoy traveling, photography, and woodworking when I have time to do those things.” 

“There is a company based in northern Europe called Precious Plastic that has built a system for plastic recycling. They have designed three or four pieces of machinery that help with the process of taking plastic used in everyday life such as shampoo bottles and milk cartons and turning them into shredded plastic beads that can be remelted into new things. I view this as a fun, positive community-building opportunity that gets plastic out of the trash and recycles it into a new material that we can use in the Fab Lab in Gates. I’ve been reading about and researching this machinery for around nine months now, and there are still a bunch of questions that would need to be addressed, but this is something that I would want to bring to Thacher.” 

“The Thacher community and students are amazing. I grew up here. Everyone is super welcoming. What I love about Thacher and what hasn’t changed in the last 30 years is the idea of non-traditional classrooms or that not all teaching and learning moments actually happen in a classroom. At Thacher, teachable moments include horseback riding, camping, and even how to take care of your space in the dorm. I think this aspect of Thacher has gotten even better because even more learning takes place outside of the classroom today, such as through the turtle conservatory and the introduction to the Astro program.”

 

“I think Thacher is better now at letting people be who they are, whether that comes in the form of affinity groups or other aspects of identity. Thacher has grown in maturity and understanding that a boarding school kid doesn’t have to look a particular way or have specific interests or activities. For example, there is way less pressure today for students to participate in a team sport. I happened to be a kid who loved playing on all of the team sports at Thacher, but I also realize that that’s not everybody. When you leave Thacher and you start to interact with different people from all around the world, you appreciate that everyone is different. Today, Thacher really lets people be who they are. There is not one type of Thacher student or one type of Thacher experience; Thacher is even better at embracing that now.”