Biography

Mike is a proud Filipino-American who was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, but is proud to call San Francisco his home. He brings with him over 18 years of experience working at private and public schools. He loves challenging students by sparking critical thinking through the incorporation of open-ended discussions in his lessons and activities. An avid traveler, amateur videographer, sports enthusiast, and culture fanatic, he has been to 6 continents and 56 countries. He has also been to 19 Major League Baseball stadiums and 2 National Football League stadiums, and has experienced the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in person as a fan. He counts Tirana, Bangkok, Athens, Hong Kong, Siem Reap, and Manila as his favorite cities. Thanks to his many travels, Mike has become adept at sleeping in airports!

An avid globetrekker, Mike is also a longtime plane enthusiast and part-time plane spotter. Mike is a perennial “window-seat flyer.” He has seen the world from the window seat of a Boeing 737, 747, 757, 777, and the 787 Dreamliner. He has also flown on the Airbus A319, A320, A321, and his personal favorites, the A350 and the double-decker A380. Mike loves meeting new people, learning about new cultures, spending hours getting lost wandering the hallways of historical museums in foreign cities, and taking long bus rides in international countries while enjoying the scenery and listening to Willie Nelson's “On the Road Again.” One of his strengths is his knack for sharing hilarious experiences and anecdotes from his travels. “Tell us a story, Mr. DLC!” is a common phrase his students chant. You can rest assured that, like a jukebox, he has one cued up!