Photo Gallery: New Faculty, Staff Bring Fresh Faces and Ideas to Tilghman

This year is Mr. Dave Wood’s second year teaching at Paducah Tilghman, although he has been teaching for three years. He teaches some of the Navy Junior ROTC classes. He is originally from Mount Carmel, Ill. In high school, he played soccer and was on the NJROTC drill team. He also joined the Coast Guard Reserves as a junior in high school. Mr. Wood said he wanted to become a teacher because “I have had experience in both the civilian and military worlds. I want them to know how important a good education is when they leave school and compete in the real world.” Outside of his curriculum, he wants his students to learn how “to be well rounded and well educated ladies and gentlemen.” His best advice for students taking his class is to put away your phones, pay attention and put in a little effort. Mr. Wood has an associate’s degree in telecommunications and a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He has also been an instructor for several telecommunications, environmental and operational military fields classes at Texas A&M University. His impression of Tilghman so far is that it “has a long and proud heritage with notable graduates who have made significant contributions.” He wants to help students understand the legacy of this school and carry on this tradition. Some fun facts about Mr. Wood are that he has been married since 1994, he attends Heartland Church, he has nine younger brothers and sisters, he has been a volunteer fireman, deputy sheriff, and he was elected to city council in a small town in Texas.

Mr. Albert Outcalt has been working here at Paducah Tilghman for two years teaching NJROTC classes, starting in August 2021, but he has previously been a NJROTC instructor at schools in Anderson, Ind., and Madisonville, Ky. He has 13 years of experience teaching JROTC. In high school, he was involved in band and math team. He wanted to become a teacher because he wanted to have a part in building the future of this country. If Mr. Outcalt had to have another career, he would be a youth minister. One thing outside of this coursework that Mr. Outcalt wants to teach his students in the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment. If you have Mr.Outcalt, one piece of advice to succeed in his class is to “use the book!” He came to Tilghman because it gave him the opportunity to take his experiences to another school and build future leaders. Mr. Outcalt’s initial opinions of Tilghman are good and he is amazed at the dedication of some of his cadets.

Bell Staff

We have gained several new teachers and staff members here at Tilghman during the last two years. We will use this space to feature our newcomers over the coming weeks.