Former Grove City student and teacher, Dr. Youngs hopes that in his years of teaching, he was able to leave a mark and help his students grow. Youngs has been teaching for 27 years at Bethel Park and is finally ready to retire.

Youngs stated that he had always loved literature and studied both literature and communications at Grove City College, which is when he became certified in English. Youngs worked in advertising, public relations, and bookselling for seven years before he had the opportunity to teach.

Youngs said, “Some of my happiest memories were working with the newspaper staff at Grove City and [Bethel Park] with the literary magazine staff.” He liked working alongside the students, as opposed to simply being there to teach.

In his retirement, Youngs wants to be able to live his life freely. He wants to spend his days relaxing and reading, which he doesn’t get to do very often on his own as a teacher.

One of Dr. Youngs’s goals while teaching was being able to help his students find themselves throughout the stories they read.

He said, “Whether they read about a character or a situation, and they realize that maybe they didn’t have words for it, but the author did. They find themselves in this book, and they realize that their experience is valued.”

In his free time, Youngs really enjoys being able to garden. He said he has about a 1/4 of an acre of land full of flowers and vegetables that he loves being able to tend to after the mental work of grading and reading.

Youngs was inspired into teaching by his whole family. He said he “grew up in a faculty room” as his mother, sisters, and nieces or nephews have all become teachers. He learned to appreciate the art of teaching and loved growing up surrounded by those who were able to help him along his way.