David Voland is a new physical education teacher here at West. He is also serving Glenbard West students as the AP Success Coordinator and as a coach for the boys cross country and track teams.

Before arriving at West, Mr. Voland taught math for four years in Colorado and Iowa. In fact, Mr. Voland graduated from Augustana College with a major in Mathematics Education. Although the subject matter he has taught varied, Mr. Voland knew he wanted to be a teacher from the beginning as “teaching runs in [his] family” and physical education was his favorite class in high school. He loves to use “P.E. and coaching to share positivity and [his] passion for movement” for the benefit of the “mental [and] physical health [of] others.”

Although the year starting off remotely has been difficult for Mr. Voland socially, he mentions that “coaching after school has been helpful in filling that void.” His connection to running is clear. Interestingly, Mr. Voland has been “running against professional athletes since 2015, with the goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the 400-meter hurdles.”