When English teacher and baseball coach Luke MacLennan was two years old, he had a pet rabbit. MacLennan one day jokingly stuck his left ring finger in the rabbit’s cage and the rabbit mistook it as a carrot and bit his entire finger right up to the knuckle. He then was rushed to the hospital and his finger was surgically reattached leaving a still visible scar today. MacLennan hated the itch on his finger, so he would eased the pain by putting the newly stitched finger in the toilet and repeatedly flushing the but his parents found out and weren’t thrilled about what he was doing. As time went on, his finger healed and the scar? Barely noticeable.

“Don’t be afraid about love. Love your family members and friends but also pursue your dreams and hopes,” said MacLennan.

Before Godinez Fundamental High School, MacLennan worked at Valley High School for two years with former principal Greg Rankin. When he found out that there were openings at GFHS, MacLennan knew it was time to apply.

MacLennan really enjoys what he does at GFHS. Whether it’s coaching or teaching, he likes to see his students happy. 

When the sun rises, MacLennan likes to start his morning by getting to school between 7:00-7:30 a.m. After that, MacLennan starts up his air purifier and then makes his coffee. He usually heads down to the gym to get his water for the day and then he goes back to class to go over his lesson plans. Afterwards, he makes his classroom clean and comfortable for his students and is ready to teach four periods of English.

 MacLennan likes teaching English and in addition, MacLennan enjoys seeing his students happy when they receive a compliment for how well they did on an assignment and test.

He also enjoys working with his colleagues and said, “they are all amazing.”             

And MacLennan is much more than an English teacher. He is also the head coach of the boys varsity and junior varsity baseball teams.

As the head baseball coach, MacLennan,  “wants to be competitive this year.” He also wants his teams to be respected and show how prepared they are.

MacLennan has many accomplishments as a coach but the one accomplishment he enjoys the most is having his former athletes return to coach with him. 

MacLennan said he is “proud on a personal level and a professional level.”

MacLennan also has a spouse that he met while working at Godinez. Sara MacLennan really enjoys having her husband as a coworker and feels lucky that she can discuss things that are going on at school.

Sara stated that “they both really understand each other and their work struggles.” 

Sara also said that the biggest perk working with MacLennan is that they both have the same schedules and the same breaks as well.

MacLennan hopes that his students will remember him and the times they spent learning with him. He hopes that his students remember that he cares about them and he also hopes that his students find time to appreciate the learning they were taught by him.

Most of all, MacLennan wishes that all his students become critical thinkers when they leave his class and Godinez.