Mr. Daniel Hill has taught English at U of D Jesuit for decades. Through all the changes at UDJ in the past thirty years, as numerous teachers and administrators have departed, there have been few constants. Mr. Hill is perhaps one of the strongest of these pillars of the UDJ community. He is one of the school’s defining figures, as the English Department Chair, the coach of Quiz Bowl, and above all, a teacher. As the beginnings and steppingstones of his career move further into retrospect, new batches of students and teachers are becoming increasingly uninformed about one of the mainstays of the UDJ community.

From the very beginning, Mr. Hill knew he was going to be a teacher. Both his aunt and older sister taught, setting him on a lifelong path working in education. He recalled when in fifth or sixth grade, he “had to write a report on what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I said I wanted to be a teacher.” This desire continually grew in him over time, sending him on a collision course with U of D Jesuit. His connection to UDJ began during his student teaching years. He did his pre-student teaching at Oak Park, but he always “wanted to do student teaching at a Catholic school, because I went to a Catholic grade school.” So, he sat down, and “on a typewriter, I wrote letters to principals of multiple Catholic schools, and there’s only one that calls back.” He was personally accepted to student teach American Literature by English Department Chair Lynn Barrett in 1994. From day one, he “fell in love with this school” and felt he had found his home. In the second semester, after he completed his student teaching, they hired him to come back and teach two open freshman classes. Since his course load was minimal, he also perfected every lunch period and even invented the after-school program. Then, in the Fall of ’94, he was finally hired full-time.

Through his countless experiences at U of D Jesuit, Mr. Hill has always latched onto the simplest moments. He was the Dean of Students, Admissions Director, Student Senate Moderator, and even more. Yet still, the most meaningful thing to him is “teaching poetry in a room, with the door closed, and figuring it out together.” When all the pieces come together, with the right group of engaged students, as Mr. Hill described, “It’s like the ions in the room shift. Little cherubs appear in the corners of the room singing with trumpets. I levitate off my chair a little bit.” No number of flashy titles or amount of public recognition could displace moments like this from his shortlist of memories. He said, “of everything I’ve done… that’s the best thing.”  Wherever he has gone or whatever he has done, his passion has remained firmly in the classroom, whether at his signature podium or in the lively discussion circle. This immense care has always been evident to his students. Former student Noah Cahill ‘23 said he always noticed that “he’s just so passionate about… he’s so passionate about all the works we read and you just feed off of that passion. You want to contribute. You want to build off of it.” Mr. Hill’s palpable enthusiasm in the classroom drives not only himself, but all the students participating in class discussion. Students take his unending zeal as motivation, wishing to raise to his level to keep up in class.

From the very beginning, Mr. Hill knew he was going to be a teacher. Both his aunt and older sister taught, setting him on a lifelong path working in education. He recalled when in fifth or sixth grade, he “had to write a report on what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I said I wanted to be a teacher.” This desire continually grew in him over time, sending him on a collision course with U of D Jesuit. His connection to UDJ began during his student teaching years. He did his pre-student teaching at Oak Park, but he always “wanted to do student teaching at a Catholic school, because I went to a Catholic grade school.” So, he sat down, and “on a typewriter, I wrote letters to principals of multiple Catholic schools, and there’s only one that calls back.” He was personally accepted to student teach American Literature by English Department Chair Lynn Barrett in 1994. From day one, he “fell in love with this school” and felt he had found his home. In the second semester, after he completed his student teaching, they hired him to come back and teach two open freshman classes. Since his course load was minimal, he also prefected every lunch period and even invented the after-school program. Then, in the Fall of ’94, he was finally hired full-time.

Through his countless experiences at U of D Jesuit, Mr. Hill has always latched onto the simplest moments. He was the Dean of Students, Admissions Director, Student Senate Moderator, and even more. Yet still, the most meaningful thing to him is “teaching poetry in a room, with the door closed, and figuring it out together.” When all the pieces come together, with the right group of engaged students, as Mr. Hill described, “It’s like the ions in the room shift. Little cherubs appear in the corners of the room singing with trumpets. I levitate off my chair a little bit.” No number of flashy titles or amount of public recognition could displace moments like this from his shortlist of memories. He said, “of everything I’ve done… that’s the best thing.”  Wherever he has gone or whatever he has done, his passion has remained firmly in the classroom, whether at his signature podium or in the lively discussion circle. This immense care has always been evident to his students. Former student Noah Cahill ‘23 said he always noticed that “he’s just so passionate about… he’s so passionate about all the works we read and you just feed off of that passion. You want to contribute. You want to build off of it.” Mr. Hill’s palpable enthusiasm in the classroom drives not only himself, but all the students participating in class discussion. Students take his unending zeal as motivation, wishing to raise to his level to keep up in class.