By Raina Foster

David Suswal is one of our math teachers here at Lake Pend Oreille High School. He has been teaching for six years, five of them being at LPO. Like gems, he is also multifaceted. David’s early life was quite unique; he was born on an Airforce base during the Vietnam War. The base was located in Alexandria, Louisiana, this is where his dad was stationed. As a child David enjoyed fishing in the ocean with his dad and grandpa. They were fishing for flounder, but once, David caught a Sand Shark. When he was little he wanted to become a jet airplane pilot, but due to his eyesight, wasn’t able to fulfill that dream. Later in life, David had taken a lot of odd jobs after college, such as a furniture deliverer, cook, demolition, maintenance, and a handyman. Later though, he ended up falling back into education. He was working as a paraprofessional in Deary Idaho. Then his wife got sick with diabetes and MS and his kids were getting older(ages nine and 11). They are now 16 and 18. This led him to decide to take classes to get his teaching certification. David chose teaching math over other subjects because it’s non controversial, therefore no one can come up to him and say he taught their child wrong, because it’s all backed up by thousand-year-old facts. He enjoys being a teacher because it’s more of the mind, rather than physical labor. He has said that his favorite thing about teaching at LPO is the relationships and interactions with students, because once they learn to trust you, it’s harmonious. Outside of school though, David loves crystal hunting and gold mining. Something that many people don’t know is that he’s good at woodworking and metalworking. When David was asked if there’s anything he’d like to say to the people who will read this, he responded with “I really love teaching at LPO;  the friends that I’ve made here in the last five years and the connections with students have enriched my life. I feel I ended up here for a reason, and it’s not just about me. I think that there’s something that I’m supposed to do here: helping someone or helping young people, especially the ones who are struggling. I’ve lost some students here and other places, and I feel like if I’m in a position to help someone not come to an untimely end or get in trouble with the law. That’s my reason for being here.”