For over forty years, Mathematics teacher Alan Samet has been part of the Morgan community. Sadly, in August, Mr. Samet decided to retire and begin a new chapter in his life. Many students and staff are sad to see him go, but each of them is happy that he will get to enjoy his retirement.

Mr. Samet was always a friendly face in Morgan. He taught countless students about mathematics, the Yankees, and most importantly, life. Mr. Samet was never a teacher to stick to the book. He fed off of his class and what the students were like at that time. By doing this, he was able to keep his students entertained and even excited to learn.

It was always a guessing game about what unexpected thing Mr. Samet would say next. From “Yo Mama” jokes, clever nicknames, or even questions about who played second base for the Yankees in 1960 and what number the player wore. By the way, it was number one, Bobby Richardson. Mr. Samet would also share life stories with his students, offering them advice on what to do and especially what not to do in life.

Most students will agree that Mr. Samet was a teacher, but he was also a friend. He always enjoyed hearing about his students’ lives and would get to know each one of his students to the best of his ability. This is something that his students appreciated because not only did it give students something to talk about with their teacher, but it allowed students who didn’t know each other to bond over common interests.

One thing that happens when a teacher is teaching somewhere for over forty years is that some students become coworkers. This was also the case for Mr. Samet. Mr. Samet had the privilege to work alongside former students. Some even followed in his footsteps by teaching mathematics. While talking about the impact Mr. Samet had on his life, fellow mathematics teacher and former student John Madura said, “Obviously he must have done something right with math because I became a math teacher.” Mr. Madura explained, “I loved his class as a student. I remember every day he loved having the interactions with students.” This is one of the many reasons that Mr. Samet was a favorite of so many students over his many years at Morgan.

Social Studies teacher and former student Christopher Zawadski said, “Mr. Samet was the type of teacher who always knew who you were, what you liked. There was always a personal connection with Mr. Samet.” On a more professional note, Mr. Zawadski shared some advice that Mr. Samet offered him when he first became a teacher at Morgan: “One thing he always told me was to relax and enjoy the job. He said if you’re teaching and you’re not laughing each day with your students, you’re not doing the job the way you should be doing the job.” These words of advice remained with Mr. Zawadski because students are always laughing with him in history class.

There have also been staff members that Mr. Samet mentored after welcoming them to Morgan with a smile. Second-year Mathematics teacher Julian Milcent said, “I first met Mr. Samet when I was interviewing for my job at Morgan. He asked me about a math concept I had never thought of before. I remember thinking wow this guy is going to be tough.” Following his first meeting with Mr. Samet, Mr. Milcent said “I then learned how caring and kind of a person Mr. Samet is.” Mr. Milcent then said, “Mr. Samet was a great teacher even for me during my first year teaching at Morgan.” It does not matter how far along in life a person is, they can always learn from Mr. Samet.

Assistant principal of Morgan Christopher Luther will also miss seeing Mr. Samet around the building. Mr. Luther shared a message for Mr. Samet: “Mr. Samet, A.K.A Alan, thanks for all you’ve done for me to help me become a better teacher, a better person, and I will never forget all the support you have given me.” Mr. Luther also admired the relationship Mr. Samet had with his students. Mr. Luther said, “For forty-plus years, Mr. Samet has put the students above himself, and they knew it. They signed up for his classes and would always clap super loudly when he would come up to speak.” Mr. Samet was a star at Morgan.

The students also share the sadness of the staff about Mr. Samet’s retirement from Morgan. Junior Alexis Shields said, “Mr. Samet was one of my favorite teachers. He cared about us and actually made us enjoy the class.” Mr. Samet’s classes were always fun, but they were also great places to learn. Alexis then said, “Mr. Samet was also a great teacher. I learned a lot from him.” Mr. Samet made learning enjoyable. and that is one of the things students will miss most about him. Junior Tim McComiskey also felt the same way. Tim said, “Mr. Samet was a great teacher that I was lucky to have taught me about all things math.” Mr. Samet found a way to get math across to students and that made him an effective teacher.

Mr. Samet also had some great sayings. Junior Cole Hornyak decided to remind people of those. When asked to name a Mr. Samet quote, Cole said, “Hush…Puppies.” This was one of Mr. Samet’s favorite sayings when his class was being loud. Mr. Samet had a way with his students that made them enjoy the class.

Mr. Samet also has very mixed feelings about retirement. He explained his decision to retire: “What made me retire is the fact that as a very senior citizen with a senior citizen wife, I felt we were too susceptible to the Coronavirus by me being in school.” Mr. Samet said, “And so, very reluctantly, I retired.” Mr. Samet will also miss many parts of being a part of Morgan. Mr. Samet said, “What I will miss the most is the students. I will miss talking baseball and just generally schmoozing about things in life with students and teachers.”

Mr. Samet is also very excited about certain aspects of being retired. Mr. Samet said, “This is the first year since 1953, sixty-seven years, that my life is not revolving around an academic calendar, and it will be interesting to see how I survive.” Mr. Samet also made it clear that even though he is retired, he is not going anywhere. Mr. Samet said, “I will still be in town and would love to see old students and faculty who mosey around town.” Many students would love to see Mr. Samet again. In Mr. Samet like fashion, he said, “I will not miss the rude, crude, and socially unacceptable club.” Many former students, proudly or not so proudly, can say that they were once members of that very exclusive club.

Finally, Mr. Samet decided to share why he believes he was so successful at Morgan. Mr. Samet said, “I attribute any success I had at Morgan to clean living and a fast outfield.”

Mr. Samet, Morgan would like to thank you for all you have done for us and all you have taught us about mathematics and life.  Always feel that you are welcomed to come by for a visit because Morgan is just not the same without you.