When you walk down the theology hallway, you’re instantly hit with the sound of happy voices and laughter. Chances are that noise is coming from Mr. Zachary Humpal’s room.

Before even walking into Humpal’s theology classroom, you will be able to tell how he teaches. With passion, care, and energy, he is able to bring his classroom and students to life.

Humpal has taught theology at Cardinal Gibbons for three years now, educating 10th and 11th graders. He has also taken on a role as a student advisor, working to support and be present with young high schoolers who seek guidance in their faith and future endeavors.

Humpal’s journey is both a unique and an unlikely one… due to both the lack of a faith background, as well as military experience.

Humpal believes that he ended up at Gibbons “by God’s providence.” He never saw himself as a teacher and was not classically trained to be one either.

“I did not grow up in a faith background of any kind,” says Humpal. “ I have always been open to the truth and curious about what is the right way of looking at the world.”

“I am a Catholic because of what God has done in my life,” Humpal says. “How he came into my world and claimed me as his own. I was not looking for God growing up or had an interest in religion until my conversion experience at 17 years old.”

A key aspect that ties into Humpal’s upbringing is his education. Upon returning from his military time in Afghanistan, Humpal received a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies while minoring in Biblical Languages from Bethel College, a small Baptist school in St. Paul, Minn. 

He described this time as “a great experience where I learned to know God.” During this period, Humpal was able to enjoy his field and realize he had a gift for text critique. Additionally, Bethel offered him a way to physically and mentally recover from his time overseas.

What followed is what ultimately brought Humpal to North Carolina. After his time at Bethel, Humpal went to Duke Divinity School to study the Old Testament. Since graduating from Duke, Humpal has returned to Bethel, this time, however, to the seminary to complete his Doctorate in Ministry. 

He is now finished with his coursework and is currently in the middle of his dissertation.

Now, as a teacher at Cardinal Gibbons, Humpal views teaching not only as a way to transfer his knowledge to youth, but also connect with his students on a deeper level.

“Yes, a classroom cannot get away from educational materials, but I try to engage my students to embody and use what is learned, not simply to learn information for the sake of knowing things,” Humpal said.

He never wants to get away from the topic at hand, but will embrace the occasional off-topic conversation, as long as it helps the class continue to discover their faith.

With each success Humpal sees in his classroom, those positives don’t come without their challenges. Humpal often has to argue to his students why they should care about theology, no matter their background. He views this as his biggest challenge on a year-to-year basis.

“We all use theology and philosophy in our daily lives, whether we admit it or not. It influences our friendships, politics, careers, how we relate to the world around us, and even what we want to do with our lives. Theology has a purpose and should be understood so we can understand each other once more.” Humpal said.

Humpal not only engages students with theological topics, but also in the subjects’ ties to our real and complicated world. Sometimes what a high school student needs is just to be given a view on their faith that is new to them, or one that gets them to deeply wrestle with their faith. This is exactly what Humpal believes, and is eager to step in and provide a different perspective for anyone who might need one.

In addition to his teaching role, Humpal places great importance on his role as a student advisor. 

“I try to be present with my students so they can use and approach me as they need me.” Humpal said, “It is about me supporting them, and at times they don’t need me directly, and that is okay.”

During his time with his advisees, Humpal has formed unique relationships with each student he has gotten to know. 

“I love watching you all grow up. I have two children of my own,” Humpal said. “God has always pressed on my heart the importance of seeing each of my students as a child loved by God and their parents, as I see my own children.”

Having already made a lasting impression on Gibbons in his short time here, Humpal desires to be viewed as someone who has love in his heart for all, as he strives to fulfill his mission from God.

When asked about Humpal, a couple of students were able to sing his praises.

“Mr. Humpal is always smiling, and he brings so much fun into the classroom,” said senior Andrew Riedel.

Senior Hudson Beatman also had kind words for Humpal: “He has a great sense of humor. I love showing up for advisory to chat with Mr. Humpal.”

“I just want students to remember that someone genuinely cared about them. No matter their background,” says Humpal. “I hope students look back and know I was always honest and real with them. Even when I had bad days or was rough around the edges. And when they look back, I hope they see Jesus was always present in our relationship.”

Humpal has proved that you don’t need too much time to dig in and make an impact somewhere. His faith has been working in different ways all around campus since his first day here, and will continue to be featured through his smiles and laughter for years to come.