Mr. Michaels

Teaching Experience

The 2020-21 school year is my 16th in public education and 11th as a member of the PHS Business Education Department. Before joining the PHS Empire in August of 2010, I taught Mathematics and Business in two other districts in Central NJ. All told, I've taught 12 courses across 5 grade levels in my teaching career.

Business Experience

Prior to teaching, I was in "corporate America" for almost two decades, where I worked for companies as large as AT&T and as small as a local 18-person computer manufacturer. I completed stints in finance, business development, marketing, and information technology. I really liked helping my coworkers so when I had my mid-life crisis and wanted change, a friend I've known since 7th grade (who became a teacher at age 31 after a career in Accounting) convinced me to "make the jump."

Education

Some believe everyone should go to a four-year college straight out of high school. I took a more circuitous path, starting with an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Business Administration from Somerset County College (now Raritan Valley Community College). I then transferred to Rutgers University School of Business and earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Marketing, and a few years later completed a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Management from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management. I've also completed 21 credits toward a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Educational Technology at New Jersey City University.

Certifications/Awards

I believe in lifelong learning and endeavor to stay current on content and teaching.

• A very long time ago, I earned my
  CompTIA A+ certification (computer networking, operating systems, and hardware)
• In July, 2014, I earned the designation of Microsoft Office Specialist in both Word 2010 and Excel 2010.
• At two FBLA national-level competitions - 2014 & 2016 - I won first place in Current Events in Business (2014, 2016), first place in Sports Management (2016), and second place in Accounting/Finance (2014), finishing behind a good friend who's a Professor of Finance at Rutgers Business School.
• In August 2018, I earned 2nd place (out of 100+ people) at a competition at a Financial Literacy Conference at Raritan Valley Community College.
• In June 2019, I earned the Spring of 2019, I passed the Personal Finance Teacher Certification exam from W!SE with a score of 74 out of 75.

Personal

When I'm kinda not teaching, I am the lead advisor for the PHS chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

When I need a break from school work, I sneak off at 7pm to watch JEOPARDY!, see live music with friends, read the New York Times, and look for local trivia nights where I like to win cash and prizes.

I have two children - one is a freshman at Raritan Valley Community College and the other is a junior at Rutgers Business School. My lovely bride has been an accountant/plant controller for a local semiconductor manufacturer for many years. We have two adopted cats: the older one is very fluffy and likes to be vacuumed (I have video to prove it) and swept. The younger is a short-hair whose purpose in life is to wait for the fluffy one to fall asleep, at which time he attacks, but they'll sleep back-to-back at night (go figure). The younger one also goes nuts if he gets a whiff of catnip, which oddly does not affect the older one. 

01Aug2020