Many of us have seen Mr. Billy Oline floating around the school. Whether he’s a sub for gym class, taking over the attendance office, or filling in for any other teacher, it’s guaranteed to see his face somewhere around the school at any given time.

Oline isn’t new to the halls of Niles West, though. He graduated as a wolf back in 2006 with experience in football and track and field under his belt.

Soon after, he went on to play 5 years of football as a Bulldog at Truman State University in Missouri where he studied exercise science and business administration.

Though Oline didn’t necessarily study education in college, he knew that it was his calling.

“I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to be a teacher,” he said.

Ms. Jennifer Sipiera, Oline’s high school biology and homeroom teacher, saw positive traits in him from an early age.

“I remember [that] he was a really good student. He was very conscientious about his work. He actually asked some really good questions when it came to material. He was also a really good lab partner to kids who sometimes didn’t understand everything. So, I remember him being a pretty well rounded kid,” Sipiera said.

Currently, Mr. Oline is a cadre here at West, meaning that he is a full time substitute. Though he’s still in grad school at National Louis University working to get his masters in education, next year he hopes to be accepted to be a physical education paraprofessional.

“When I get my masters, I’ll have my teaching certificate in physical education and special education,” he said.

“I think he’d be a really great assett to the teaching field here,” said Sipiera. “Especially if he’s willing to work in the special education realm and work with the physical wellness with students to be able to get them to have that experience that a lot of times they don’t get. I think he would be fantastic at it because he has a very relaxed, very calming personality.”

“It’s a rewarding experience, ” he said.

One of the things that draws Mr. Oline to education is being able see students grow.

“I just think that working with students in general, especially young adults, is rewarding.”

Oline has had the motivation to achieve his dreams since his days as a Wolf. He specifically remembers physical education teacher Chris Vivone having a strong impact on him.

“He instills in people work ethic and the amount of work it takes to succeed,” Oline said.

According to Sipiera, Oline had that work ethic at a young age.

“I would say the years that I had him, I had a really, really great homeroom, and he was kind of a spearhead in that homeroom. Back then there was a big competition with the NHS canned food drive, and my homeroom won all four years. In their senior year I believe my homeroom collected over 2,600 cans just by themselves, and [Oline] was a big proponent of getting money together from all the kids in my homeroom. He came and he helped me unload boxes and boxes of cans, so he was already willing to put forth that type of commitment back when he was even in high school,” she said.

Speaking from experience, Oline has a few words of advice to anyone wishing to achieve a big goal.

“The end result is definitely worth all the hard work that you have to go through.”