This Bolles alumni didn’t always want to be a math teacher. He didn’t even like math until junior year when he felt like his math teacher finally supported him. Mr. Collins, a new teacher at Bolles but a longtime Bulldog, is the newest addition to the math department. 

Collins went to Bolles his entire life and was a part of the football and wrestling teams, but struggled in math class. 

“I was awful at math until 11th grade in my school year,” he says.

Collins went to the University of Florida for criminology but didn’t feel like that was his calling.

“Criminology intrigued me in my early 20’s, but I did not realize until after I graduated that my passion was teaching and coaching. I wanted to be like the teachers and coaches that had an influence on me when I was at Bolles.” 

He felt like Algebra and teaching math were his ways to give back. “I really started to do well and it clicked, and I just started having so much fun and I didn’t know math could be fun and it wound up being my favorite.” 

In the past 14 years, Collins taught PreAlgebra, Algebraic Foundations, and Algebra 2 at Episcopal. 

He didn’t immediately come back to Bolles because both his parents worked at Bolles and he wanted to create his own legacy. 

Eventually, Collins couldn’t stay away. “I felt like it was time for me to be home. Because I went here and I love it.” 

He’s learned a lot over the years, from acronyms for remembering math terms to life advice for his students. 

He reminds his students, “I’m not going to quit on you and I’m going to let you know it’s okay to make mistakes.” 

Outside of teaching math, Collins is joining his old high school coach, Coach Morris, in coaching wrestling, something he’s very passionate about. 

Mr. Collins is full of one-liners that resonate with his students, including this appeal: “Win the battle between your ears.”