Mark Lorson, known as “Doc,” has been teaching here at Jonathan Alder for 44 years, 45 years overall. From Hawaiian shirt Thursdays to telling his life stories during the slow moments in class, Alder will be losing a very important person from the science wing.
Lorson decided to retire this year because he’s “gettin older,” and he’s “just got stuff to do, places I wanna see.” He would like to enjoy the simple things in life. Lorson plans to woodwork, visit his kids, fish, and spend time with his wife.
When Lorson was attending college, jobs for chemistry weren’t that sought after, and he decided to give education a try. His mother gave him the confidence and the money to go back to college and be able to teach high schoolers science. His favorite moments teaching at Jonathan Alder is when he is able to joke around with his students, while still educating them.
His students notice. In our senior poll, Connor Boggs wrote, “He was the best teacher teaching wise and always kept class interesting with his stories and demonstrations.”
Photo from The Pioneer Press archives, 2009.
Lorson’s former student and current coworker, Wendy Hall, had Lorson for a teacher when she was a sophomore. The transition to coworker was strange for her; she still cannot call Lorson by his first name like he requested. Like everyone else, she refers to him as “Doc.”
She describes Lorson as fun, entertaining, engaging, and always thinking. “He cares, he wants everybody to have an opportunity to be successful.”
Alder won’t just be losing a science teacher. Alder is losing a person who has impacted this school for 44 years, and has shared his fascination with chemistry and physics with the kids of Plain City for decades. Lorson has also served as the advisor for quiz bowl, quick recall, and senior class, taking on the responsibility of helping plan events like Cedar Point and graduation.
Lorson describes himself as positive, resourceful, and fun. For many students, though, Lorson is also inspiring, as many current seniors reflected in our poll. “He made my HS career better, wrote Julia White, “in the fact that I became much more confident in my academic abilities and the ability to become comfortable with not knowing the answers.”
