La Voz

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Sonia Easaw Paul Olejniczak, professor of astronomy and meteorology at De Anza College, says he has known astronomy was his passion since he was a young boy. Fifty-three years later, he is still pursuing that passion through teaching.

About 53 years ago, a young boy saw a telescope in a store window and yearned for it with all his heart. His grandmother had recently taken him to a planetarium in Pittsburgh; it seemed to his 10-year-old mind that all his dreams lay in that beautiful telescope. He knew his parents could not afford such a gift for him, though his father worked hard at a steel mill. But when he woke up on Christmas morning, there it was waiting for him. He was enthralled to the point he couldn't put it down for months to come.

Fifty-three years later, the young boy, Professor Paul Olejniczak, is still exploring the sky as an instructor of meteorology and astronomy at De Anza College. "I love it. It's been my passion since I was 10 years old," says Olejniczak.

A close second, he also loves teaching and has about 425 students per quarter at De Anza. Though his classes are large, some students stand out. One of his students was a pilot who went on to become a hurricane hunter, while another went on to study meteorology at the University of Wisconsin.

Olejniczak also enjoys hiking on local trails in Diablo Foothills, especially with his neighbor and her big, black dog. As far as pets go, Olejniczak has a couple dozen cichlids in the 65-gallon aquarium in his house. He said that his fish can recognize him, and in the morning they swim up to him against the glass.

Olejniczak, who will be 63 soon, wants to "teach as long as (he) can." He is thrilled to be teaching in De Anza's newly renovated planetarium, and said that "the new digital sky system is just absolutely amazing," so he doesn't mind watching it over and over again. "It's fun having that technology and being able to incorporate it into teaching," he said.

Olejniczak said that students respond well to his enthusiasm in the classroom. "There isn't anything better than being paid for something you really enjoy doing."



Sonia Easaw is a staff reporter for La Voz.

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