Mr. Cohen: You know him as the magnet coordinator, SCO sponsor, Key Club sponsor, and ASB co-sponsor. As one of the most involved staff members, you’ve probably seen him assisting students however much he can, whether you’ve been at Eagle Rock for three months or three years; he emphasizes how “working directly with students is probably the best part [of working at ERHS]”
He started his journey by getting his undergraduate degree in television production at Cal State Northridge. While attending college, he also had a side job at a camera store where he taught photography classes and where his love for collecting cameras sparked. If you visit the Magnet Office, you’ll stumble upon his range of cameras made from 100+ years ago to the present day. Initially, Cohen aimed to pursue a career in the film industry, but he later realized how unstable the income was and figured that wasn’t how he wanted to live his life. From 2009 to 2015, Cohen worked towards his teaching credentials in history, science, administration, and CTE.
Now, he was able to pursue his plan of being a teacher, but with his credentials in administration, he knew he was able to work towards bigger opportunities. He began his first school job at Castro Middle School where he worked as a teacher’s assistant for a science class. Then, he became a history teacher at the same school, and thoroughly enjoyed it because of all the interesting stories that would unfold.
Fast forward to Mr. Cohen’s Eagle Rock High School journey — he first began as an AP Government teacher in 2016. He then dabbled in other classes like engineering and video production. He adored teaching that class but had to stop last year because of the change in our CTE pathways. He is now a co-sponsor in ASB. From 2018 to 2020, Cohen was the IB Coordinator so he could get closer to his end goal of being a part of the school administration. Afterward, he became the Magnet Coordinator as of February 2020 — his job being to recruit students into the magnet program and put them into the appropriate classes. As said before, he’s also the Senior Class Officer’s sponsor with Ms. Hernandez, whom he loves working with. He was first asked to help the club temporarily, but eventually got sucked in and is now helping them full time.
Soon, Cohen plans on becoming Assistant Principal; hopefully at ERHS, but only the future can tell. Being a principal is known to be very time-consuming and, with his 5-year-old son, he doesn’t want to waste precious time with his family. When not working, Cohen enjoys camping and hiking, but when indoors, he’s found playing video games on his computer or PS5. His favorites are DOTA 2, Fortnite, Harry Potter Legacy, and Fall Guys. Overall, Mr. Cohen is an amazing part of the school staff and is always looking forward to helping out students around campus.