Prior to teaching, Dan attended the University of Dubuque, where he was a member of the men’s basketball team. Following his years at Dubuque, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Geography Education at Illinois State University. After college, Dan taught high school history on the South Side of Chicago for 4 years, where he also coached basketball. Dan’s teaching philosophy is to first gain students’ trust aided by a welcoming and open-minded environment (mixed with some terrible jokes) in order to foster individualized educational growth throughout the school year.