Earth and Space Science is a class taught at Vandegrift that covers everything from how everything on our planet works to what is in our space above us. Teaching the course is science teacher Andrew Liguez.

“I became interested in space pretty early on,” Liguez said. “One of my favorite memories growing up was when we went camping and just stared at the stars. Since I grew up in Austin, we didn’t really get to see any stars due to the light pollution. I was amazed at how bright the night sky can be outside of the city.”

Liguez’s interest in space is what led him to pursue a degree in the field of science at Texas A&M University, where he studied multiple STEM-related subjects.

“I majored in Biology with a minor in Geography studies and STEM education,” Liguez said. “I got a pretty broad overview of different sciences because of my minors.”

During his time at A&M, Liguez also became involved in several extracurricular activities, most of which revolved around leadership and service.

“I was pretty involved in student organizations during college,” Liguez said. “I was a camp counselor for fish camp at A&M along with having a leadership role in my service fraternity. Both of these organizations helped me create strong friend networks that I still have to this day.”

It was through his college experiences that he realized he wanted to be a teacher. He felt that getting to work with other students was a very rewarding experience.

“I started being interested in education around my junior year of college and started adding education courses to my coursework,” Liguez said. “And I found out how much I enjoy working with students. It’s nice having a change to my everyday schedule and getting to interact with so many different personalities.”

Like most teachers at Vandegrift, Liguez begins rather early in the morning and can go on well into the afternoon. In addition to school-related work, Liguez is also involved with several club activities depending on the time of year.

“During the day I am either teaching, grading or interacting with my students,” Liguez said. “I am involved a lot with extracurriculars, so during this past month of March and April, a lot of my time was dedicated to Relay for Life outside of class time.”

What he does in his personal life depends on the time of year. During the school year Liguez uses his personal time to rest for the next day. However during the summer, he likes to spend his time outdoors or playing video games.

“During the school year a majority of my personal time goes to sleeping,” Liguez said. “Out of the school year I like traveling, going to the river, exploring the city or just playing video games at home.”

Liguez believes that the most rewarding part of his job is how he gets to teach seniors, since that means witnessing their transition from children to fully-grown adults over the course of the school year before finally watching them cross the stage.

“I’ll be honest: the most rewarding part of teaching Earth & Space is being a senior teacher,” Liguez said.  “Watching everyone walk the stage and being excited for their future is super rewarding.”