Would you believe me if I told you that Warren’s favorite Six Flags Seasonal Employee of the Year, who also happens to be a chemistry teacher, has never set off the smoke detector during school hours?
When’s the last time you used a VHS tape to watch something? If you asked a sophomore, they’d most likely say ‘last week, in Mr. Cerauli’s class.’
Almost 23 years ago Mr. Cerauli began teaching at Warren. But how did he end up in blue devil country? Mr. Cerauli was originally studying to be a doctor in college and was even accepted into Georgetown’s medical school. However, he had a revelation that changed his path; “I was all set to go and I thought to myself hmm why do I want to be a doctor. And the reasons were money, prestige, and helping other people. And I thought well maybe helping other people should be at the top of that list and it wasn’t.” With this realization, Mr. Cerauli looked to his family history for guidance, and found that his mother , brother, and his brother’s wife were all happy in their careers as teachers.
After 10 years spent at Thornridge High School on the south side of Chicago, he got an interview at Warren and Antioch High School and ended up a blue devil. In his over three decade teaching career, he saved up enough excused sick absences to retire after 33 years of service. His life at Great America takes a lot of credit in his perseverance through the years, he explains what he will do once he retires stating, “I am going to continue with the job that kept me in teaching for 33 years, and that’s working in the rides maintenance department at Great America. If it wasn’t for that job, I know I never would have made it through 33 years of teaching ….. I am going to work full-time 40 hours a week, year-round.” The stories and lessons learned through his experience at Six Flags have carried on to his daily teaching, these tales are a memorable aspect of taking Mr. Cerauli’s class.
Along with his famed stories, Mr. Cerauli is known for his explosive experiments that often become tales of their own. My favorite story… well, to be honest with you it just happened, and it just happened in your period (period 7). That’s gonna be my favorite, when the egg wouldn’t go off and I was afraid to touch it, the exploding hydrogen egg, and I walked up and blew and it blew up in that exact moment, and it had nothing to do with me blowing, it just happened. So I think that’s my new favorite moment.” Mr. Cerauli’s big personality adds to these exciting moments, making them more tense and fun. He always has a joke to crack or a comment to add making dull lessons engaging and fun. It’s not just his students that see this side of him, his colleagues also enjoy his antics “I mean I think everyone knows how Mr. Cerauli is and how he’s just crazy to a level that nobody else can match, in a good way not a bad way,” shared Mr. Black, a fellow honors chemistry teacher.
Mr. Harkins, who has worked closely with Mr. Cerauli for all of his 13 years at Warren, and Mr. Black for 20, both have had the honor to have Mr. Cerauli as an “impromptu mentor” that grew into friendship. Picking just one interesting story is difficult coming from Mr. Black. But having both taught Honors Chemistry, Mr. Black cherishes his favorite memories from the after school honors chem. study sessions. Mr. Harkins recalls one story that exemplifies Mr. Cerauli’s fun spirit. Days after getting back surgery, Mr. Harkins and Mr. Cerauli were laughing about something and not thinking, Mr. Cerauli slaps Mr. Harkins on the back! Mr. Harkins explains, “I’m like ‘ahhhh’ and it almost dropped me to my knees and he was like ‘oh my god I’m so sorry!’ and he just didn’t think about it, he’s just such a big character, big movements and corked me on the back and I’m like oh my god dude thanks.” The whole science department at Warren will have a hard time filling in the joy and entertainment Mr. Cerauli has brought every day he comes to work.
A couple years ago, sophomores were coming out of a full freshman year over a Chromebook. Going into honors chemistry less prepared than in previous years, it was like they had come straight out of eighth grade, still expected to be an upperclassman in the next year. Always putting his students first, Mr. Cerauli saw this as a challenge he would have to put himself and this class through. From Mr. Cerauli’s view he says, “I thought to myself, I want these kids to be ready to be juniors over at Almond, I’m going to have to bust my butt. And they knew what I was doing for them and there wasn’t a single complaint and I worked them really hard the whole school year so that by the end of that school year, the year after the pandemic, they were ready to go over to Almond to be juniors. So I think that’s my favorite memory and one that will stick with me forever.” Mr. Cerauli earns a lot of respect for moments like these. He puts in effort to meet students half way and displays a mutual relationship of a good work ethic.
So what is the legacy Mr. Cerauli hopes to leave? In his own words “I hope that [the students] will not hate science and actually like science, so that when they come across it in the future, whether they do it for a career or they just are watching something about science on TV, they won’t be like afraid of it, and that they’ll embrace it,” but that’s only the first half of his hopes. While leaving a good impression of science is certainly important (and he certainly has), he has another wish that he has reiterated several times, “I am going to say it again, a better work ethic. You know, a desire to go above and beyond and not necessarily do stuff just for a grade but because it’s going to help them be more successful in life.” So what have we as students learned from our time in Mr. Cerauli’s class? Definitely a lot more about stoichiometry than we ever thought, but also how to manage our time, make jokes, and be creative. Thanks for everything Mr. Cerauli!
