Rosenberg's Journey: From Dining to Derivatives

By Jenna Noguera

March 25, 2022

Walking into the math office at Colonie Central High School it was obvious that Douglas Rosenberg was in his happy place. The banter between his colleagues, Mr. Duffy and Mrs. Cresanti, revealed his comfort with both his colleagues and his environment. When sitting down to do his interview he spun his chair to face me, casually folded his hands, and leaned forward, ready to dive in.

Rosenberg grew up in Guilderland his entire childhood, living with his mom. He described himself as an awkward child; also, he was a bit of a knucklehead who just wanted to hang out with his friends playing video games.

Rosenberg said, “When I was your age I would’ve never thought that this was where I would’ve been or ended up. I couldn’t have even pictured myself - I had no idea what life would be like.”

When it came to being a student, he put in minimal effort toward any type of school work. The only advanced classes he ended up taking were those in mathematics.

“I wouldn’t classify myself as a real academic strong student back in the day,” Rosenberg said, describing himself as a high school and college student.

When he started attending college at SUNY Albany after high school his bad habits caught up with him. His grades dropped, and he only ended up staying there for a year and a half. This led him to Schenectady Community College, where he earned a 2-year degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

With his degree he ended up working in a number of restaurants after graduating. This included Paolo Lombardi’s Ristorante in Wynantskill, where he met his wife who worked there with him as a hostess.

In his mid-twenties Mr. Rosenberg wasn’t happy with the life he was living. All of his friends were graduating with their degrees and starting the lives they wanted to live, which made him realize he wasn’t living his.

He remembers thinking, “Maybe I made a mistake and I needed to do something else to be happy.”

He talked with a friend who had just earned a degree in education and helped push Rosenberg in the same direction. He ended up going back to SUNY Albany where he got his Bachelor's in Mathematics, and his Master’s in Secondary Math Education. Returning to college, he was a much better student, and says it was because of his passion for math.

Mr. Rosenberg is now in his 16th year teaching math at Colonie. Currently he teaches AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and Elementary Statistics, all courses available for SUNY Albany credit. On top of this, he also teaches two classes of statistics at the University of Albany campus.

He was the teacher to start the University in the High School program with UAlbany regarding math courses. He felt it unfair that our school only offered AP classes where your grade depends entirely on one exam.

Outside of school most of his time is spent with his wife and his two daughters, who are seven and nine years old. Between school and family there isn’t a lot of free time for him to have hobbies. The one thing he does enjoy doing is cooking, especially Italian food. He likes to be in the kitchen testing out new recipes, which he says his girls always enjoy.

This love of cooking has sparked his dream of owning a restaurant after he retires from teaching. He still has at least ten years of teaching left at the high school, but can’t wait to start a new chapter in his life. His dream is to create a niche restaurant where the food is organic and comes out fast. Rosenberg wants to create a space that isn’t present in today’s world. A place where you can eat healthy in a quick service setting. He said that it would be okay if the restaurant failed because it’s better to try, and that he would have his pension from teaching to fall back on.

Rosenberg’s first job was working at Burger King at fifteen. Then after college he spent so many years working as a waiter or bartender. He has a lot of restaurant experience which he thinks will help him when he goes to pursue this venture. Although this time around he wants to be a behind-the-scenes man. Working in the kitchen, creating the recipes, making the food, that’s where he wants to be.

Isabelle Lewis, a former student of Mr. Rosenberg, talked about how it was hard for her to picture this side of her teacher. It was difficult to think of her math teacher owning a restaurant. She felt it was hard to see him outside of his role as a teacher. We should remember, students have a life and dreams outside of school, as do teachers.

When he plans to open his restaurant he hopes that his family would want to take part in it. When he pursues his next dream, his daughters will be in their early twenties, and he pictures them working there as hostesses or waitresses. Family is a really important aspect of his life now, and as his daughters grow, he doesn’t want to lose sight of that.

While his higher education was not the typical path a person takes, it worked out well for him. Now he has the knowledge of how to run a restaurant. He also got to find a job that he really loves, teaching math. Rosenberg is a good example for students that you don’t need to have everything figured out right away.

Collin Gebauer, a current senior and student of Mr. Rosenberg said, “It makes me feel better to know that not everyone has their life figured out when they go to college, even teachers.”