St. Louis U. High welcomes new teacher Robert Hill, a familiar face to some, as a full-time member of the Social Studies Department. Hill has coached the JV swim team for three years and subbed part time last year. 

Hill will be teaching four periods of AP Microeconomics this semester and will take on four periods of AP Macroeconomics in the spring, utilizing his previous background in business finance.

“Economics is not very common in many high schools, so it’s kind of unique to even offer it, and I get to teach it, so that’s fun,” said Hill. “I worked in business for 25 years, doing investment banking, private equity, corporate finance jobs, and I’m trying to figure out ways to bring that into the economics platform.”

Leading up to his time in corporate America, Hill gained a wide range of life experiences that will provide a new perspective for his classes and students. This started as early as his childhood, and the experiences he had growing up overseas.

“I moved around a lot growing up. We lived in Saudi Arabia during my high school years, and the company my dad worked for paid for me to go to boarding school, so I went to Phillips Academy Andover,” explained Hill, chronicling his life in the Middle East and in New England.

As he steps into his role in micro- and macroeconomics, he will continue as the JV swim coach, which in the past three years has given him the opportunity to use his experiences at Princeton as a water polo player and swimmer. While coaching, Hill also taught American History at St. Louis Community College and hopes to incorporate the knowledge he gained from that classroom into his courses at SLUH. 

“It’s a little bit of a different crowd, (St. Louis Community College), but the community is great. Some of the students are stars and some of them just need a lot of help,” said Hill. “You’ve got a wide spectrum. Some people have a job, some people are married with kids and they’re older coming back to college, so it’s a unique way to teach.”

From Saudi Arabia, to one of the top boarding schools in the country, to teaching in a diverse environment at STLCC, Hill brings many skills to the table. 

            “I'm still working through certain ideas on finding and bringing more real world applications to the AP format,” said Hill. “I hope I make an impact on the kids, not just on getting a good grade, but more importantly just learning, and maybe finding a passion for this topic.”

This outlook, plus a personable approach to teaching, has already allowed Hill to make the most of his first couple weeks at SLUH.

“I think from a personality standpoint, I’m pretty flexible, in that I’m empathetic to others,” said Hill. “I think I can connect with students pretty well.”

With all of these great influences and insights in his back pocket, Hill is excited to move into the 2021-2022 school year to continue coaching and teaching the students of St. Louis U. High.