A Wall of Ceramic College Keepers
Walking into Rick Bourdeau’s room, students find a variety of sensations. First, the smell of coffee leaking into their sinuses as he has a fresh cup brewing. Next, the sight of hundreds of college-themed mugs lining the walls of room 221, creating special scenery for Amity Regional High School seniors.
Before the mugs found their way into Bourdeau's hands, he worked for another organization to develop surveys for various statistical purposes. Bourdeau said that he wanted to do something more productive for society and to give back. With the support from his family, he decided to become a teacher.
In his first few years of teaching, not all of his classes were senior level for Bourdeau as they are now. He taught some LE Psychology classes but mainly World History for freshmen. In 2017, he switched to teaching all Psychology classes, including LE and AP.
Bourdeau said he has been keeping college mugs for almost 10 years. “[My students] asked if they could get me an end of the year gift,” Bourdeau said. “So I told them that they could get me a mug.” Once he received his first one, it became a tradition for seniors to get him a mug to represent where they were going for college or secondary school.
When asked about his favorite mug, his response was simple. His daughter’s. For Bourdeau, it was apparent that the most important mug in his collection was his daughter Gabrielle's Wake Forest mug, given to him when she graduated from Amity in 2016. After all, it was the only one that he brought home.
Senior Steven Weng, one of Bourdeau’s current students, said, “When I walk into the room, I see a different coffee mug that Mr. Bourdeau is drinking out of. It leaves me on my heels to see what mug he will be drinking out of today.” The surprise of seeing what mug will be next keeps students engaged and in-touch with their peers’ plans for secondary schooling.
The best part is not necessarily about finding out about each other's plans, however. Another one of Bourdeau’s students, Bryan Lin ‘26, said, “I am going to give him my University of Rochester mug soon. I feel like the mug will make me feel seen and represented even when I’m not here anymore.”
Lin described it as a very special feeling too, as he felt seen and heard when he noticed Bourdeau drinking from the mug that Lin gave him. He said, “It felt like it will be more than just a mug, but a way to remember me and my class in the coming years.”
It’s not only the students who benefit from his mug collection. Bourdeau says, “I love how my mug collection has grown. It is a constant reminder to me how much good I have done over the years, especially on the days I don’t think I am doing that good a job.”
It’s not necessarily a benefit for just the students and it shows that he is doing a great job despite his thoughts at times. It acts as a support and a reinforcement that he is very well liked by all of his students.
For him, the red, blue, yellow, orange, green, or white mugs represent his students and how Bourdeau remembers them. He says that he often picks his mugs and sees the name and the school on it. It helps Bourdeau remember his students but also how much he impacted them.
Nonetheless, he won’t be a teacher forever, so his plan for the mugs is already set. He said that he would give his mugs to other teachers when he retires, and that he would give them out to make sure that every students’ memories live on.