Having lived in five countries and three continents, Irish-born Bryan O’Mahony brings an international perspective to his Introduction to Business Management and World of Money classes. He spent 10 years teaching math and business in Holliston, Mass. His wife teaches Spanish at the high school, and they have three children together.

How is teaching business different from teaching other classes, like math?

We’re dealing with math that most people will deal with way more regularly than trigonometry functions, or many of the other things I taught in my other math classes. Some people will do advanced calculus in their careers, but not many. Almost everyone will deal with personal finance and number crunching.

Why did you decide to come to the high school after you left your previous teaching job in Holliston?

I spent an hour twice a day in a car driving up to Holliston, which is 25 miles away, and the drive back was usually longer. It was a soul destroying drive. I loved the school there, but that was chipping away at my soul. I cycled to work today. That’s a big upgrade in my quality of life.

Do you have any interesting anecdotes about your students?

In my previous school, I did have a student who was very entrepreneurial. As a sophomore, he set up a company doing social media management. He had so many clients that he was outsourcing the management to his classmates. When I used to close his laptop during a class because he wasn’t supposed to have his laptop open, I felt that I was costing him about $500. He went on to have a full-time marketing job as a senior. He was flown around to different parts of the country to do online marketing and consulting work. He earned tens of thousands of dollars throughout high school. He must have had over a hundred thousand by the time he was a senior and still managed his course load.

Where in Europe did you live?

I’m from Ireland; that’s where I grew up. I spent eight years in London as an engineer and a year teaching in Madrid. And then, I spent a year in Peru before I came to the U.S. So this is the fifth country I’ve lived in, and I don’t think I’m going to a sixth country. I’ve come to Brookline through a winding road, through two careers and five countries.