Señor Miguel Casas is a Spanish teacher at Cardinal Gibbons High School and has been a part of our school community for 27 years. He was born in Vigo, Spain, to his big, Catholic-centered family, being the seventh of 10 children. Growing up, his parents spoke several languages, exposing Casas to different languages. Before coming to the United States, Casas had spent four years in England learning English, so the language was never a barrier here. He was a straight-A student throughout childhood, with his favorite subjects being history and Spanish. 

When Casas was 30, he moved to the United States but with no intent of staying. He planned to stay at UNC-Chapel Hill for eight months as a type of “sabbatical” year. He wanted to experience a different life and culture away from home for a bit, not knowing that one thing would lead to another. 

He first enrolled in graduate school and then started looking for jobs. He claims that the open, positive American mentality and sense of opportunity attracted him from the beginning. 

However, all new opportunities come with challenges. One of the simplest ones that people in the States wouldn’t think twice about is adapting to the car culture. Casas had never owned a car before coming to the United States, since in Spain, public transportation was the way to get around everywhere. As someone who grew up his entire life in Spain, the American culture and the Spanish culture being so different can be a struggle. 

One of the biggest differences is that Casas had to learn to adapt to was the food. He discovered that American food was not as varied as he expected, having a lot of the same things, while Spain is known for their richness, freshness, and variety in food. Even though Casas is very happy here and doesn’t look back, he misses having the opportunity to see friends, family, and the Spanish culture, being halfway around the world. 

Casas’ journey at Cardinal Gibbons started in 1999. Initially, he studied to become a journalist. While studying for that career, he taught Spanish at UNC Chapel Hill to be able to pursue his career in journalism. He enjoyed it a lot, but continued the journalism path. A few years later, when he was dissatisfied with his work life, he reconsidered new teaching possibilities, and that’s when Cardinal Gibbons crossed his path. 

He knew this was the right job for him, accepted the job, and never looked back. At Gibbons, Casas has had the opportunity to teach almost every Spanish class offered, including Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish II-Honors, Spanish III, Spanish III-Honors, Spanish IV Honors, and AP Spanish Language. The best thing he claims about his job is building so many connections with his students that don’t just disappear when he doesn’t teach them anymore, and how much he gets to laugh on the job. 

If anyone knows Casas, without a doubt, the worst thing about his job for him is having to deal with all the missing assignments, absences, and grading piling up. 

The teaching style that Casas offers his students is something different than most teachers. Instead of talking nonstop while the students write down notes, he has a very open classroom. He creates an atmosphere where every student is comfortable talking in Spanish and making mistakes. Casas tries his best to make the language and the class relevant to the students’ lives, as well as all his humor that he never leaves out to brighten students’ days. There is always chatter in his class as he is very open to group conversations with his entire class. When anyone walks into Casas’ room, the possibility of you seeing him sitting down at his desk is close to none. 

From 1999 to now, a lot has changed in this world and in the classroom. Casas has adapted to the changes in his classroom to the best of his abilities. He claims that the biggest change has been technology and that there’s been more of an emphasis on teaching for all different learning styles and giving the student a more important role in the teaching-learning process. When asked about a singular moment that has made a huge impact in his life as a teacher, he could not pinpoint one. Casas says that more than one moment in the classroom, a lot of little moments have built up to make a big difference. 

“There’s so many that I can’t even name them all: a retreat, an unexpected note from a student or a former student, a conversation on campus, feedback from a parent,” he said.

When asked about what advice he would give future teachers, his response was pretty simple, saying, “Have a good breakfast every morning; wear comfortable shoes; and try to remember that that kid you think is being lazy or disinterested might be dealing with a very serious problem in life that you have no idea about.” 

This simple response shows how much Casas cares not only about how he teaches but also who he teaches and their problems as well. 

The past 2024-2025 school year, Casas won the teacher of the year of the entirety of Cardinal Gibbons. This is a huge honor and accomplishment that any teacher would love to receive; since there are so many teachers at Gibbons, it’s never an easily won award. When Casas is asked about how he felt when he won, he says, “I feel very grateful and humbled.” 

However, when you ask any of his students, they don’t understand how he hasn’t already received it.

 “I always look forward to going into Spanish class. Even though I don’t perfectly understand the language, Casas is always talking to every student in the class, making sure they are included in the conversation,” said senior Colin Lusk “He finds ways to make the classroom fun so we are interested in learning more, and I’ve noticed he always has a good eye for telling when a student is lost and struggling to help them.”

 This is only one of the thousands of students that Casas has taught throughout his 27 years of teaching, who have nothing but good things to say about him. 

Not only is there positive talk from the students, but also from his co-workers. 

Mr. Mike Curatolo, who is the Director of Facilities at Gibbons and has been at this school around the same time as Casas, talked about him as a coworker, not just a teacher. 

“I have never heard anything bad said about Miguel Casas. I always see him talking with other coworkers or students in the halls, and there’s always a smile on their faces,” Curatolo said. “Casas is known for how funny, chipper, and happy he always is. He has always been a very involved member in our school community, not just as a teacher but also as a retreat leader on kairos and a coach, as he coached JV girls soccer for many years.” 

When asked about the rest of his career until retirement, Casas has no plan of leaving Cardinal Gibbons anytime soon or ever. He claims that he does not have any plans for his teaching styles, as students always seem to enjoy it, and test results are always high and positive. However, he always believes that a person can improve and is open to suggestions and ideas. 

Casas wants his students not only to remember him as a good teacher but also as a good person whom they can rely on anytime. The goals for the rest of his life are to live a fruitful life guided by love and, when the time comes, to make good use of his retirement time with his wife and family.