Avid runner and Runkle track coach Daniel Hack is a new addition to the high school’s Reaching for Independence through Structured Education (RISE) team. A cat and pesto lover, he spends his free time hanging out with friends and enjoys vanilla sweet cream cold brews from Starbucks.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are you looking forward to this year?

I’m looking forward to getting to know my students because I’ll have them all their four years of high school. So, I’m looking forward to getting to know them and watching them grow. Well actually, a lot of them I know from Runkle, because Runkle has a very robust special education program, so most of the kids with special needs came from Runkle.

What got you involved in special education?

First I wanted to be a PA, a physician’s assistant. I know I didn’t want to go to PA school right after college, so I got a job just working in a public school in Boston, and I saw how poorly kids with disabilities were being treated and how inequitable things really are for them, and I started focusing my efforts and working with that population. And then I was like, ‘Wow, I think I’m actually pretty good at this, and I really like it.’ So then I was like, ‘You know what? No PA school, I want to be a special ed teacher.’

Is there any movie or book that you think is important for every high schooler to read or watch?

I really liked the novels by Donna Tartt, so “The Goldfinch” was really good. And as far as movies, I think watching “Dead Poets Society” was pretty intense. We all watched that as part of our growth and development class in high school. Also, “Gandhi.”

What is your favorite place you have ever visited or been to?

My favorite place I’ve ever visited is definitely Lucerne, Switzerland. It’s a great combination of medieval-looking but also modern. And I think Switzerland in general, because Lucerne is in the more German-influenced area, but if you go south to this place called Lugano, it’s straight out of Italy.

Is there a genre of music, musician or band that you’d recommend to students?

Well, I was going to say Noah Kahan, but I think everybody’s already into that. I really like the band Rebelution; they’re like an alt-rock reggae group from California. I like to play a lot of lo-fi beats in my classroom while my students are working independently or even classical music, but I like to have music playing. They seem to like it, and it keeps a good, calming vibe in the classroom.

Is there anything else you’d like students to know about you?

I’m just happy to be here, and I’m excited to see some of the students that I used to know, keep those connections going. I am looking forward to having a good first year of teaching. Everyone’s been really great so far, and I really have no complaints. I have really good students, I have great staff, and my department is amazing. I have a great mentor, so I’ve been very happy. I know a lot of people’s first year of teaching is super stressful and really difficult and sometimes really terrible, but I feel like I’m super lucky.