Digital Video Technology teacher Eric Garner has served as a background extra in several films, including “Iron Man 3” and “Rock of Ages.”

While studying communications at Florida State University, Garner met his ex-wife who had always wanted to appear on television. Ironically, the pair met the producer of “Shark Week” during a beach trip, who agreed to let them appear as extras in an episode. While they were on set, Garner met an agent who helped him kick start his temporary career as a background extra.

While acting as an extra for several movies, Garner met multiple celebrities including Tom Cruise, Russell Brand and Paul Giamatti. However, his favorite part of working in film is watching his lectures be applied to the industry.

“My favorite part is going to set and getting to see what I am teaching in the classroom,” Garner said.

Advanced Placement Capstone Seminar teacher Andrea Kowalski-Rospierski was initially inspired to rock climb after training to work at an indoor rock wall; however, she stopped to complete her teaching certification.

Years later, her son wanted to try rock climbing after being fascinated by the film “Arctic Ascent;” consequently, Kowalski-Rospierski quickly returned to the sport, so the family could practice.

Her record climbing height is 60 feet, and her proudest achievement is completing a 5.9 climbing route, ranked moderately on the difficulty ranking scale.

“It’s really fun, like a physical and mental challenge,” Kowalski-Rospierski said. “You have to be able to hold yourself on the wall, but then you also have to be able to figure out which path you’re gonna take and how it’s going to work.”

In 1992, current MSD math teacher Jeffrey Taylor decided to take a break from teaching his previous seventh grade math class and became a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines before it eventually merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. His favorite memories associated with being a flight attendant are shopping in Seoul, Korea and Taiwan.

A licensed captain since 2000 and scuba instructor for nearly 36 years, school counselor Jerry Turmaine runs his own business, Parrot Island Scuba Adventures, where he dives and trains divers along the Florida coast.

He gained interest in the industry during a vacation with his wife to Cozumel, Mexico in 1991, where he tried scuba diving for the first time.

“It was like the coolest thing ever did,” Turmaine said. “So before the wheels of the plane hit the ground at home, I had already signed up for certification classes and got certified.”
Turmaine has dived in various areas around the world;his favorite locations include Fiji and Australia.

His “coolest” diving experience was when he and his crew spotted and swam with a 35 foot baby whale shark, an extremely rare aquatic species to locate in Florida.
His most exciting dive was a great white shark cage dive in Australia.

Involved since 2018, Advanced Placement World History teacher Devin Schaller is the guitarist and lead singer for cover band “Mischief.” The band members include drummer and band founder Jerry Turmaine, who is an MSD guidance counselor; lead vocalist and pianist Christina Gilbert; and bassist Amy Seplin. The band typically performs two to five shows per month at large city events, occasionally drawing crowds of nearly 600 people. Schaller was introduced to the guitar via his roommate during his first year of college.
“I played ‘Wonderwall’ a million times and annoyed everybody,” Schaller said. “I was playing guitar seven hours a day, every day, so I practiced a lot.”
From there, he played acoustically in public spaces and joined bands, eventually settling with “Mischief.” The band has made exceptional progress, playing at larger venues for higher prices after each show. To prepare, each musician individually practices songs with their corresponding instruments before meeting up–typically once a week–to run the songs together. In his free time, Schaller likes to produce his own music, pulling inspiration from his emotions and experiences.
“When you create something… it lasts longer than you do,” Schaller said. “So even after we die, this stuff still is around. And so creating my own music… for me, personally, [is] what’s my greatest accomplishment.”

This story was originally published in the October 2024 Eagle Eye print edition.