Marshall Brown, our beloved media teacher at Mendocino High School, is more than just your average teacher. Along with teaching, Marshall does many other things and is among the most hard-working people you´ll ever meet. I mean seriously, Marshall, don’t you enjoy free time? Marshall, who has taught at Mendocino High School for 12 years, teaches Broadcast, which includes Radio and Podcast Production; Music Production, in which students make music using Logic Pro; and Video Production, in which students create films starring other students. He has provided an outlet for creativity in the form of technology. In addition, he also shreds the saxophone, manages the student powdered radio KAKX, has done audio production, editing, and recording for 13 years, has done freelance creative work, has been an executive producer and audio engineer for 7 years, has been a technical director for Mendocino Film Festival for 12 years, has been a seasonal camp counseling for a band camp for 17 years, and was in the past, a fire chief/assistant. He is proof that if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything.

Marshall’s passion and fascination with all different types of technology landed him a job directly after high school, editing videos and helping support a team of cinematographers, editors, and sales representatives across the United States. Marshall’s career is significant at the school, and he wasn’t expecting it to happen as it did. He states “It all started with an email.” As he took the classes that he now teaches, he gained a thorough understanding of the processes and all of what’s involved. After graduating, he was asked to renew the radio station’s license. He made sure everything was working technically and that was that. He said, “A whole summer went by, and I got another email and yeah, that’s how I wound up here after graduating.” With no degree or teaching background, Marshall took this on and made the program what it is today. “I had the drive to wanna see the program be successful, so it kinda helped, but those first couple years of me teaching were definitely some of the wildest…” 

“It’s like herding cats in here. Marshall’s cat herding class,” Marshall says as students come in. “ I’ve never had this many students in my room in a single day.” Although herding cats (high school students) is challenging at times, he enjoys watching his students find passion and have fun with the things he loves. He mentions that he “wanted to do right by the future generations of teenagers growing up in this town. Just give them a space to create and have fun.”

So, how does he manage all of this? According to Marshall, he has a “very patient wife” and “stays very organized.”  He makes micro-adjustments to fit his schedule and do the things he needs to do as well as take care of himself and his family. “I’ve got 3 screens right here, checklists, planners, and just, you know, if you’re disciplined enough to be able to go, ‘Okay how am I gonna approach all of this and like, stay organized,’ then it’s not so hard. But it took me, like this is my 13th year teaching, like it took me until today to get to this point. So I’d assume that in another 10 years, it’ll look even cooler and more organized. Or maybe I just won’t care.”

Some would argue that Marshall doesn’t like free time, but in fact, he loves it!  He mentions that he likes to spend his free time “…either vegging out and rotting on the couch or use it to spend time with my wife and be a productive part of society.” Free time is special to him, so he enjoys it quite a bit. 

Outside of school, Marshall is working on getting his associate’s Degree from Mendocino College. He got the opportunity to teach without a degree and only a credential and soon he will have his degree and will be teaching a dual-enrollment course in a few years. Aside from that, he enjoys making music and art, doing lots of research, and with the remaining time, spending time with his wife and 2 cats. He also spends the summers as a head counselor at a band camp. “I was a camper for 6 years. I’ll have been on staff for 17 years now this coming camp season, and I was a camper before that. So, I’ve been going to camp for almost 23 years.” In addition to camp every summer, he manages to prepare for the next school year.

Every school year is different and interesting and Marshall like some parts more than others. He says he loves “seeing a student just connect with whatever they’re doing. Whether they are engaged in producing a good radio show, making a super sweet playlist, they made a really good podcast, they’re super stoked on the film they made. It could be as simple as getting on live radio for the first time… Just seeing them connect with, and getting pumped up about it. I love it and when I see them love it, it makes me happy.” 

Along with the joys of being a teacher, the things he dislikes about his job are the rough days when people are hard on him, as well as his fear of germs. “I’m actually kind of a germaphobe,” he says as a student hands him two ketchup packets. “Ketchup packets?! Sick!” he then says enthusiastically. He has had students sneeze on him, cough on him, etc. However, Marshall does not allow these things to stop him from doing what he’s gotta do. 

Marshall Brown has done tons of amazing things during his many years of making things happen for people. He has created an incredible media program that produces remarkable pieces of work. Hilarious films, crazy bumpin’ music, entertaining podcasts, and creative radio shows, are all made by Marshall’s students. He has been a determined and devoted teacher, mentor, friend, husband, camp counselor, and cat owner, and he is continuing to show us what phenomenal things he can do. Everyone deserves a dedicated teacher like Marshall.