Dan Simonds has been teaching Global History for 10 years at Susquehanna Valley High School(SVHS), first starting in 2008.

He took some time off in 2011 to live overseas before returning to SV.

Simonds said, "We ended up moving to Thailand. We were over there for about five years, so about 30 countries in the process. It really helped, you know, kind of open up the world for me a little bit for what I was going to be teaching back here. So I came back in 2019, and I've been teaching here ever since."

Simonds likes to make sure his classroom is a safe space for his students, keeping calming lights on during class and having a lecture-style seating arrangement to keep students engaged.

He also draws from his past travel experiences to help out in the classroom.

"Sometimes I will be teaching about tribes in the Amazon rainforest or something. I'll just throw up a picture of me there and there's something about that when they're like, so you were there? You actually slept in that rainforest? And yeah, and it really gets them excited about that," said Simonds.

Alongside the curriculum, Simonds encourages kids to follow their dreams, remembering he was once in their shoes.

Simonds said, "I was a kid growing up in Conklin and I never really thought any of this was a possibility. You know, am I ever going to see places like this? Am I ever going to do things like this? And just showing the kids that, you know, the world is a crazy, unique, amazing place and this is something you can do, too, if you want to."