NDA’s Father-Son Duo Share the Love of Teaching

Olivia Vanden Elzen, Staff Writer, Advanced Journalism

For the past six years, NDA’s father-son duo, Mr. Harry Geiser and Mr. Greg Geiser, have been working side-by-side doing what they both enjoy most: teaching.

Harry Geiser or what many like to refer to him as, ”the wiser Geiser,” was born into a farming family in Chilton and attended Chilton High School. After graduating high school, he attended St. Norbert College to study Mathematics and later went on to pursue a Masters Degree in Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Upon finishing up his Masters, he came to realize that he needed a job to pay off his ever-growing pile of student loans. Therefore, he moved back to Green Bay to be closer to his family and eventually landed a job at Our Lady of Premontre High School as a math teacher.

“To be honest, I don’t think I was really ever inspired to be a teacher. I just desperately needed to pay off my college loans, and therefore needed a job, so I took my first job teaching at Premontre,” Harry said.

Although he came to really enjoy his job in Green Bay, he despised living in the city and decided to move to the country town of Green Valley in 1972, where he and his wife had five kids including his son, Greg, in 1976.

“To impress people, I like to tell them I was born in a treacherous snowstorm with below zero temperatures, and I almost was not born in a hospital,” said Greg.

Greg was raised in Green Valley and later attended and graduated from NDA in the Class of 1995. After putting his green and blue apparel away, he took up the purple and yellow as he attended University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to study Sociology.

Between graduating college and teaching at NDA, Greg found himself as a nursing home activity director, mentor, social worker, supervisor for a rental assistance program and a powerline maintenance worker.

“There really wasn’t anything I didn’t try in the time between graduating college and teaching here at NDA,” Greg said jokingly.  

“Being a teacher was always in the back of my mind from just going to work with my dad who inspired me, and I like to think I’m pretty good at organizing things, which is vital for a teaching position,” said Greg.

On top of teaching a full day of classes, Greg also organizes Intramural Basketball and Chess Club.

“Greg is very good at organizing things. He even tried to organize our family into a band where everyone would have an instrument, and we would sing,” said Harry.

Though they have many different interests, they both agree that having each other around is a big part of their joy of teaching at NDA.

“I enjoy working with [my dad] because he is like a rock, and he is always here to come talk to when I’m feeling down, or even to just have an intellectual conversation,” said Greg.

On the other hand, Harry said, “Always try to enjoy every minute. Having my son here is part of the joy of teaching at NDA, I love to have fun, make ironic statements, and make fun of English. School is boring, so you can bring positive energy–at least for the day.  You bring what you have make everyone’s lives better.”

In the future, the two plan to continue teaching at NDA, and as for Harry, “I would also like to keep my farm running smoothly.”