WOODBURY — Most people will retire from teaching after around 30 years. Most people wouldn’t give up precious retirement years to go back into the classroom — but most people aren’t Steve Sorriero.
He’s a familiar face around Nonnewaug — with a not-so-familiar backstory. There’s much more to Sorriero than his Santa beard may entail. He has dedicated more than 50 years to his passion of teaching, and along with many other hobbies, that truly make him, as NHS’ Principal Mykal Kuslis would say, “the world’s most interesting man.”
Sorriero taught over five decades in the Watertown school district as a physical education teacher at Judson Elementary School, while spending a few of those years teaching at the middle school and high school.
After his retirement in 2020, Sorriero found himself working small building sub positions across a variety of schools in the Northwest Corner to keep himself busy.
Last year, Sorriero applied for the building sub position at NHS, opening yet another gateway for Sorriero to continue his love of being in the learning environment.
“I’m in my 70s now,” said Sorriero. “ I still love being here, still love being active, still love being challenged mentally, rather than sitting home and being retired.”
In fact, Sorriero has a rather close connection with Kuslis and his family. Coincidentally, he taught both Kuslis and his father, as well as other family members, as their P.E. teacher throughout the years.
“When I was at Judson, [Sorriero] was my P.E. teacher, and then when I came back to teaching, my first job was in Watertown in 2008-09, he was my mentor for that first year,” Kuslis said. “We kept in contact for the last 10-15 years; we had each other’s phone numbers so we would text every once in a while. As my job progressed to different places, I would let him know where I was.”
Gianna Desjardins, a sophomore, had Sorriero as her elementary school gym teacher at Judson and now sees him in the halls of Nonnewaug.
“Mr. Sorriero was always very funny and nice, he always had stories to tell, and he liked to goof around with everybody,” said Desjardins. “He would always have these games set up for us and stuff. He wanted to make the class fun. He’ll say hi to me when I see him now; he recognizes me.”
Rosie Makarewicz, a freshman, also had Sorreiro as her elementary school P.E. teacher, and remembers him a little differently.
“He was our gym teacher [at Judson], and he had this crazy mustache at one point. That’s what he was known for,” said Makarewicz. “But he was always telling stories and he would always have these fun games.”
One of Sorriero’s goals as a gym teacher was leaving kids with memorable experiences in class.
“I never stressed the competitive part of it,” said Sorriero. “I never kept score; if we played soccer games or speedball games or basketball games or football games, whatever we were doing, never kept score. It was always, play to the best of your ability and have fun. Don’t worry about the competitive part of it; just have fun. That was the main thing.”
Cashlyn Medonis, a sophomore at Nonnewaug, thinks Sorriero is a good addition to NHS.
“He’s a nice guy, very talkative and friendly,” said Medonis. “He’s always got a smile on his face and you can tell he really cares for everyone in the school. [He] wants to be here and always wants to know what’s happening when he’s subbing in your class.”
Sorriero wants to share his passion of teaching as he makes his mark on Nonnewaug.
“I’m hoping that because I’m enthusiastic about teaching that maybe some other students will find that a good character trait for themselves,” Sorreiro said.
When Sorriero isn’t in the classroom, he might be found in the theater. He has been acting since 1966, starring in over 300 plays. He has also taught two Broadway stars.
From being in the classroom, to raising over $200,000 for the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart during his years teaching physical education, to starring in countless plays, Sorriero has left an impact on many people, encapsulating the meaning of what it means to be a teacher.
Though might not everyone realizes, his addition to Nonnewaug is one that should be cherished.
“He’s like a staple in the Northwest Corner; everybody knows Steve,” Kuslis said. “I mean, he taught for 50 years, so the kids that he’s worked with over the last 50 years, the relationships he’s built, is pretty amazing. To have him here is really cool.”
