By SOPHIA ZARIFOPOLOUS
Mr. Mills, one of the most beloved teachers at Jericho High School, has another life that is largely unknown to the Jericho community.
Perhaps the most intriguing tidbit about Mr. Mills, aside from being an Earth Science teacher, is that he is a talented photographer. If you have had Mr. Mills as a teacher, then you have had the pleasure of viewing the wonderful photos that he incorporates into his educational PowerPoints. In fact, one of Mills’ photographs was featured as the cover photo of the day on News 12 Long Island’s Facebook page. It was also selected as one of the best photos on Long Island by News 12. Mr. Mills has won the News 12 Facebook banner competition multiple times, but notes that he only enters these competitions for his own enjoyment. “I don’t really enter contests for prizes. I just like it when large numbers of people are able to view and comment on my images,” he said.
In addition, Mr. Mills has also won a contest sponsored through the Long Island Tourism bureau and was a finalist for the Bethpage Federal Credit Union photography contest. Some of his artwork is displayed on his Facebook photography page in addition to his gallery on fineartamerica.com. His images are available to purchase and since most of his photographs are landscapes of Long Island, they are often bought by people who have moved away from Long Island and want a reminder of the beauty they left behind. Mr. Mills is particularly interested in exploring landscape and wildlife photography and often donates his images to charity auctions. Mr. Mills said that his favorite picture that he has ever taken is one of a lighthouse on Fire Island. His love of photography is not a recent development. “My fascination with photography goes back as far as I can remember. I took my first photographs when I was about ten years old,” Mills said. He added that his favorite type of camera is made by Canon. He often uses his Canon camera on vacation and when he wants to capture a moment for posterity.
Mr. Mills has had several exciting experiences throughout his lifetime. He said that his favorite vacation destination is Africa and that he dreams of visiting Antarctica. His quest for knowledge and love of learning fuel his desire to travel around the world. In addition, Mr. Mills has many interesting passions. These include, but are not limited to: reading, flying airplanes, and fiddling with scale model air crafts. “I’m actually a student pilot, and fly airplanes pretty regularly,” said Mills.
Mr. Mills definitely proves that teachers do not live under their desks!