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Chemistry alum retires after 40-year teaching career

2024-08-13

Writer(s): Steve Scherer

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Chemistry alum Mark Marz (B.S. Chemistry, 1982) recently retired after 40 years of teaching science for Michigan City Area Schools.

A native of South Bend, Marz began teaching in the Michigan City school district in 1984, while earning a master’s degree in science education at Indiana University.

“The most rewarding aspect of being an honors chemistry teacher was that I was able to influence and help build the foundation of the work ethic and problem-solving skills of the brightest and most eager young minds at Michigan City High School,” said Marz, whose career culminated as science department chair at the school.

Marz says he taught too many outstanding students to mention them all, but several have a special place in his memory. “Julia Miller was an Indiana Academic All-Star in 2019, and she chose me to attend her Indianapolis award ceremony.  I received a nice plaque with a paragraph that she wrote thanking me for all I had done for her,” Marz remembered.

Marz says he also remembers a very talented blind student, Sally Kiebdaj, who was a member of the school’s science club that he sponsored. “She played the fiddle in an Irish band and asked the most deeply relevant questions in class.  She persevered and overcame her disability to graduate from Harvard and is a science communications specialist at high-performance computing center in Stuttgart, Germany,” said Marz.

Marz also admires the career path of former student, Jacob Bowman, who wanted to become a physics teacher. “Jacob became a very good physics teacher, and he led some AP training that I attended. I am very proud of him,” Marz recollected.

Boom got it!

Marz says he taught students who struggled with chemistry but tried very hard to understand the science. “I encouraged them with a ‘Boom got it!’ when they were first with an answer,” Marz recalled of his motivational phrase.

He says one class, as a friendly competition, even kept track of their individual “Boom got its.” “I named my fishing boat ‘Boom Got It’ at my wife’s suggestion,” Marz laughed.

Boom Got It tee-shirt graphic

Marz's students designed tee-shirts with his image and favorite phrases that he used in class.

Purdue memories

As an undergraduate, Marz lived in Tarkington Hall for three and a half years. “I was a member of the Tarkington Hall Camera Club for three years, and I was Tarkington Hall NE Unit social director for one year,” he remembered.

Intramural sports were a big part of his residence hall life where he played softball, volleyball, tennis, and basketball to name a few. "NE Tarkington won the All-Sports Trophy for all-male dorms one year,” he remembered.

“I remember spending many hours at the Co-Rec playing pickup basketball on the weekends. The blisters were real. They really have improved sports shoes since the early 1980s,” he added.

Marz recalls taking a very tough physics course and enjoyed an electronics-intensive analytical chemistry lab taught by chemistry professor Richard F. Dallinger.

Marz also tutored first-year chemistry students. “One guy paid me by bartering a refractor telescope that I still have,” he chuckled.

Gold and Black connections

Marz says he has many family members with Purdue connections, including all four of his siblings who attended and earned Purdue degrees.

“Mary Marz earned a pharmacy degree. Michael Marz earned a master’s in electrical engineering. Martha Marz spent three years at Purdue and finished her degree in medical records at IUPUI, and Matthew Marz earned a degree in criminal justice,” he said.

His wife, Sue, is a retired police dispatcher/secretary for Purdue University Northwest, where she also taught RAD/SAFE self-defense. “And one of her daughters, America (Zahn) Baumgart and her husband, Nick Baumgart, are Purdue grads, along with my niece, Monica Marz,” Marz added.

A John Purdue Club member, Marz says his first two dates with his wife were at Purdue football games. “We’ve been able to make several football and basketball game bus trips with the PNW Alumni Association and I was able to see Zach Edey play twice this year,” he said.

As a longtime beekeeper with 13 colonies, he and his wife also attended two beekeeping field days, including this year’s meeting at the Beck Agricultural Center, hosted by the Beekeepers of Indiana, Inc. and the Purdue Entomology Department.

“Purdue grads know their stuff and can problem-solve with the best.”

As a chemistry honors, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics teacher, Marz says he taught the best science students and tried to steer as many as he could to Purdue. “I told them it was a difficult path to follow, but once completed, everyone, who was anyone, in science and engineering, recognized Purdue graduates as the real deal,” he said.

Marz says teaching has changed immensely during the last 40 years, particularly in how students search for information.

“In the past, if you asked a student to look something up, it could turn into an ordeal. Students would go to the library to locate a book or journal article and extrapolate what they found. You weren’t always successful,” Marz explained.

He says today’s students have information at their fingertips and want to immediately find the answers. “Getting students to realize that their brain is a better tool than Google is difficult,” Marz added.

Marz kept four stacks of Scientific America magazines in his classroom that dated back to the 1950s. “I had two of my teacher aids look through those for articles that might be useful for high school chemistry, physics, or biology courses. They were both National Merit Scholars, and I like to think that their experience of leafing through the old articles helped with their future careers,” he said.

Marz says one of those students, Theresa Saenz, earned a Purdue undergraduate degree in materials engineering, and ultimately a graduate degree from the Colorado School of Mines.

Marz is particularly proud that he was acknowledged in Saenz’s doctoral thesis where she wrote: “I’d like to thank Mr. Mark Marz, my high school chemistry teacher, for the rigorous courses he runs and his endless support in my pursuing a career in science. Learning how to think about problems until I could solve them in your classes set the foundation for my success as a scientist to this day. Plus ten to you.”

Advice for today’s teacher

Marz believes that making connections with students, particularly in activities outside the classroom, motivates them inside the classroom. “I tried to get to know my students by attending choral and band concerts, theatre performances, and athletic events. When students see you care, they will work harder,” Marz suggested.

He coached the school’s Chemistry Olympiad for a decade, was involved with the school’s prom activities for many years, and even was an assistant coach for girls junior varsity basketball for a couple years.

Marz sponsored the science club his entire career. He also sponsored the fishing club, co-sponsored the table tennis club, and combined his passion for sports and photography by capturing action shots of his students during athletic events. “I will miss the students. Interacting with them kept my mind sharp,” he added.

Retirement plans

During retirement, Marz says that he and his wife will continue to volunteer as camera operators for the school’s live-streaming of home football and select basketball games. “I am fortunate that my wife, Sue, enjoys many of the same activities that I do. She is an avid fisherperson from Wisconsin after all,” he added.

In addition to fishing, the couple also enjoys their 25-year beekeeping hobby, along with activities including: travel, boating, gardening, photography, hunting, camping, hiking, reading, bicycle riding, antiquing , and foraging.  They recently tried magnet fishing.

As a member of the Indiana State Teachers Association for 40 years, Marz says he will join the Indiana Retired Teachers Association to keep track of issues affecting education and teachers at the Indiana Statehouse.

And always the teacher, Marz says that if his former students need help with their college-level chemistry courses, he is available to assist however he can – a dedicated educator and ever true Boilermaker.

Mark Marz, retired Michigan City science teacher and Purdue Chemistry alum on Lake Michigan coastline

Retired science teacher and chemistry alum, Mark Marz, enjoying the Lake Michigan shoreline in Michigan City, Indiana.

About Purdue Chemistry
The Tarpo Department of Chemistry is internationally acclaimed for its excellence in chemical education and innovation, boasting two Nobel laureates in organic chemistry, a top-ranked analytical chemistry program, and a highly successful drug discovery initiative that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties.