Dr. Dillon Rockrohr teaches English I and III in the Upper School. He grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. Before coming here, he was at Penn State University working on his PhD and teaching college writing and literature classes as well as working as a tutor at the writing center. His current favorite book is The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. His favorite class back in high school was–contrary to popular belief–history; he had a really good history teacher who taught him both American history and Civics. In his free time, he likes to watch movies, draw, read, and have good conversations with friends. A goal he has in life is to publish a graphic novel. 

When asked what his favorite thing about Newman is, he said: “The people here–both my students and my fellow coworkers. I feel like we have a good community of people here, who are all mutually supportive and eager to learn.”

He is extremely passionate about being creative: “I think it is good to have creative projects. For me, I like to draw and also do creative writing and mixing the two into making comics.” A big motivator for him is curiosity. As well as when other people are curious and want to learn, it motivates him as a teacher. He believes that curiosity is very important to one’s growth. He is also motivated by a sense of community, and having a good relationship with his friends and peers. 

“My friends have always been mentors to me. In the last three places I’ve lived (which were all intuitions of higher education), I’ve had really good friends and in all of those places, I feel like I have relied on them and their experiences and I’ve also shared my experiences with them to help all of us grow. And so I feel like my friends have always been my mentors.”

We are so excited to have Dr. Rockrohr in our English Department this year!