NATCHEZ &8212; New chemistry teacher John Wright said he feels he is right at home teaching at Cathedral High School.

&8220;I hope to stay here as long as my life allows me to,&8221; Wright said.

Wright, 24, said it was fate that brought him from Louisiana State University to teach at CHS.

&8220;My wife came here to work for Fruit of the Loom in Vidalia in December and she saw the ad in the paper about Cathedral looking for a teacher,&8221; Wright said.

Attending LSU for his last semester, Wright said he and his wife, Kimberly, decided to get married and move to Natchez so that he could commute to Baton Rouge to finish up.

He started work at CHS right after graduation.

Wright said the faculty of Cathedral did an excellent job making him feel welcome.

&8220;Mike Roboski took the time to show me around town to places I would need to know about and also convinced me to help out with the Catholic Youth Organization and the school play,&8221; Wright said.

Wright said he appreciates the efforts his students put forth in his class at Cathedral.

&8220;As a teacher, your success rate for yourself is measured by what your students learn and it&8217;s hard for a teacher to see when the students don&8217;t care enough to learn,&8221; Wright said.

Because he teaches at a Catholic school, Wright can teach students chemistry and share what he knows of the Catholic faith.

&8220;I enjoy it when I can answer questions students have about the faith,&8221; Wright said. &8220;I can be a teacher in subject, but in faith as well.&8221;

When Wright signed on to be the chemistry teacher at Cathedral, he didn&8217;t know he was volunteering for a coaching job as well.

&8220;The golf coach job just fell into my lap,&8221; Wright said. &8220;I really had no desire to coach when I graduated.&8221;

Wright said when his wife talked to principal Pat Sanguinetti about his job, Sanguinetti asked if he could play golf.

&8220;My wife replied, &8216;Well, he beats me at putt-putt all the time,&8217;&8221; Wright said.

Wright said it was a blessing to coach the team however, because this year&8217;s team won the state championship.

Principal Sanguinetti said Cathedral School is fortunate to have a teacher like John Wright.

&8220;John Wright has been an asset to our school,&8221; Sanguinetti said. &8220;Very few math and science graduates come out of college to teach and we are blessed to have this Catholic man with a passion for teaching the subject.&8221;

Being unseasoned with teaching, Wright said he has met a few challenges.

&8220;My biggest challenge is with as intelligent as the students are, it&8217;s hard coming up with a way to challenge them and get them to expand their minds,&8221; Wright said.

Another challenge Wright said he faces is answering the students when they ask why must they learn chemistry.

&8220;I tell them that they need to learn this class in order to prepare them to take it again in college,&8221; Wright said. &8220;Even if they don&8217;t plan on becoming chemists or physicists, they still need to learn enough to pass this class and the next when in college.&8221;

Wright said he plans to give his time and effort to the community in some kind of service, but he is not yet ready to step out to do that until becoming more seasoned as a teacher.

&8220;Being young and new at this job, I want to make sure I do it right before I join any other groups,&8221; said Wright.