Conor Finney has started his first year of independent teaching this year at Gunnison High school (GHS),since he has taken Gregg Smith’s old position as the school’s tech teacher. Finney’s new room is in the computer lab by the main office, which consists of the main computer area as well as three auxiliary rooms. One of these is the fashion design room, which is available to anybody who has completed fashion design during the previous semester. Anybody is allowed to take this apex online class which is taught by Finney in the main computer lab. The second room is the ski lab where students are allowed to make skis, snowboards, and skateboards if you take a Ski Design course with Finney. Only juniors and seniors are allowed to use this room and take the class. The third and last room that Finney inherited is the school’s recording room, which is used primarily for the school’s GHS TV station. He is confident that he can take on the responsibility of watching over these rooms and the students that are in them. 

The Giddyup staff interviewed Finney on his new role in the district, his backstory, and how he ended up teaching tech at GHS.

The Giddy Up staff- “What would you say is your favorite subject to teach?”

Finney- “Math is definitely my passion and is what I want to go back into”

G- “How much did you and Mr. Smith talk before you took on his role at GHS?”

F- “ I spent a week with Greg, I learned some of his ins and outs. I’m still learning what’s in here, I’m trying to balance what he had in here with what I want to shape the class to be.”

G- “ When did you know you wanted to teach?”

F- “ When I was in college I always knew I wanted to teach.”

G- “ What are you excited and nervous about this year?”

F- “ I am excited for my ski labs, I wouldn’t say nervous but I’m apprehensive about teaching my robo tech class just because I am not Mr. Smith, we are not doing Mr. Smith’s class, we are doing mine. I am trying to build my own kind of classes.”

Finney was born and raised in Gunnison, he graduated from GHS and always knew that he wanted to eventually come back to it. He went to Western Colorado University for 3 ½ years before traveling to Montana to finish his masters degree in math. As for teaching technology he has always found an interest in it and it has been something he has enjoyed for most of his life. He said that if he wasn’t in his current career path that he would like to be a coder. He is very happy with his new role and the leadership at GHS. He believes that Mr. Woytek and Mrs. Wilkinson bring with them a lot of school spirit and are working to bring back the school’s culture. Everybody at GHS, staff and students are more than happy to welcome Finney into his new position.