Enthusiastic math teacher Randy Kriewall was not always so excited about teaching.

Many kids know what they want to be when they grow up.  Kriewall, however, knew what he did not want to be.

He remembers when his principal pulled him aside during recess in eighth grade and said, “I think you’re going to be a teacher.”

“I cried all day. I thought it was the most horrible thing,” Kriewall said.

After quitting his job as an accountant, Kriewall started substitute teaching on the advice of a friend and found he really loved it. A couple other jobs later, Kriewall still was not sure what he wanted to be at the old age of 27.

“I told [my friend], ‘I don’t know what to do,’ and my friend said, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ I said, ‘Teach.’”

Kriewall’s first full-time teaching job was at KHS  20 years ago, and he has been holding down the job ever since.

“I got the best school on the first try,” Kriewall said. “The students are awesome. The school is really nice.  I really like the kids.”

Students like Isabel Campbell, junior, like the uniqueness of having a teacher that can be both fun and an educator.

“He’s different from all my teachers,” Campbell said, this year being her first one having Kriewall as a teacher.

Along with connecting with students, Kriewall makes an impression with fellow teachers.

“I can’t think of a nicer person on the planet,” Steven Jonak, math teacher, said. “He does so much for the students here inside and out of the classroom. He’s also one of the funniest people you will ever meet.”

Teaching two honors Algebra II classes, two Precalculus classes and one regular Algebra II course, Kriewall contributes plenty at KHS. One of his biggest contributions is his photography.

“I got into [photography] to try to give students something to remember how great their time here was,” Kriewall said.

Not having the patience for landscapes, Kriewall has been making memories for Kirkwood students for around  10 years.

“I just feel lucky that I stumbled into the job I’m in,” Kriewall said.