Meet the Team: Steve Basaraba, Sciences Teacher

April 14, 2022

GNS

For the Meet the Team series, we conducted a short interview with Mr. Basaraba, and learned a little more about his as well as a few fun facts about how he came to be such a wonderful addition to the GNS community.

What made you want to be part of the GNS community?

I had several reasons. I have been a teacher for a long time. I was first connected to GNS through athletics. I coached basketball and I was very impressed with their student athletes. I’ve been teaching in the Diploma and IB Program for a long time and when I came back to Canada from being overseas, I wanted to stay in IB and GNS is a well-known school that offers the program. My wife loved Victoria, and together, we thought it would be a nice fit.

How did you choose teaching as the right path for you?

I kind of became a teacher by accident. I went to university and received a degree in zoology and at that time I wanted to be a wildlife biologist. But during my education, I realized that it probably wasn’t the best fit for me. I had a couple of friends also in sciences, they said “they would go into teaching, since they need teachers and it is a good job, and the money is good.” They were like “you should try it” and I thought about it and was like well, I gotta do something. So I went into teaching. It wasn’t the best motivation to go into teaching, but when I look back, I’m really thankful because I really love it and I love what I do, and I think this is what I should do.

What are some of your interests outside of school?

I love reading philosophy, I really love watching sports. I can’t play sports any more but I love hiking and cycling with my wife. I like reading. There are three different areas that I read, one area is philosophy and I’m a person of faith, so I read a lot of books about that, and my next area is science. I love reading books about different sciences. My third area is coaching. I love reading books about coaching basketball and strategies. Those are my three main areas, but actually there are four, and the fourth is teaching. I love reading about teaching.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

Because I’m new here, there are probably lots of things people don’t know about me. I have three children, but they’re all adults. I’ve lived in three different countries, if you count Hong Kong as a special administrative region. Other than that, I’ve been travelling quite a bit, and 10 of my years of teaching were all outside of Canada.

What do you like about living and working in Victoria?

My wife and I, ever since we were married a long time ago, we’ve always loved Victoria and the ocean—my wife has always wanted to live by the ocean. The city’s a great size, and there’s so much to do here, so much outdoor stuff which we love and the culture here. There are so many reasons and we’re so excited to finally live here.

Do you have a favourite science experiment?

I really enjoyed the Rollercoaster one we just did in Grade 10. It is one of my favourites because I just love seeing how it comes together and some of the problem solving. I just love that part of it! I’m really into biology and origins of life biology, and I really love thinking and researching about that. My favourite lab other than the roller coaster is, titrations in chemistry. Chemical reactions are really fun things to do.

Do you have a favourite basketball team?

I was a Seattle Supersonic fan before they moved and became a different team but I would say currently, my favourite team would be the Milwaukee Bucks. I like Gonzaga for college basketball. I actually like college basketball better than the NBA.

Thank you Mr. Basaraba for taking the time to share a bit more about yourself with the GNS community and a heartfelt welcome to you.