* Farce is a literary genre and type of comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated and funny situations aimed at entertaining the audience
Instead of textbooks, his bookshelf showcases C-3PO action figures. Hand-drawn pictures of Darth Vader sit on top of his whiteboard. The walls remind you that the force is with you instead of the typical grammar rules.
When Eric Hillebert is your English teacher, going to his class always feels like taking a step into a “Star Wars” commemoration set.
Four decades later and the blockbuster franchise is still a defining part of his identity. Despite the fact that George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney in 2012, Hillebert’s loyalty didn’t waver.
“I like all of the movies including the newer ones. They changed the focus of the story of course, but I think they did pretty well with it,” Hillebert said. “The only thing I can say is that it's gotten pretty hard to watch the marathons that I have every once and a while with my wife.”
Aside from his periodic marathon sessions, Hillibert was also able to take his fascination and expand it to a hobby by once harboring an extensive action figure collection.
“I used to collect action figures. I had so many that I actually made a border out if it,” Hillebert said. “In my old classroom I actually had all of them propped up wrapping all around my room, which I think was the coolest border to ever exist.”
While moving over to CCHS, this border was put into retirement. But in its place, two life-size cutouts of Darth Vadar and carbonite-frozen Han Solo stand proudly in the corner of his classroom.
“Darth Vader is my favorite character, actually. I like him because it just goes to show that no matter what mistakes you make in life, there is always a redeeming quality,” Hillebert said. “I love the concept of the hero’s journey that is portrayed in ‘Star Wars.’ The characters grow and develop so much so I like to incorporate that into my teaching.”
Having the cutouts along with anything “Star Wars” related in his room is only one aspect of how his fandom has touched his career as a teacher.
Considering the fact that character analysis is an important skill in English, Hillebert has found a way to use this key skill and merge his passion with his livelihood.
“I haven’t done it here at Cooper yet, but I always try to incorporate it into when talking about the hero’s journey,” Hillebert said. “In fact, I actually have a whole keynote of this book that I taught a while back with ‘Star Wars’ all over it. I put specific scenes for the students to watch and relate it to what we were reading”
Going into his second year at CCHS, Hillebert being known for his love of the “Star Wars” universe stretches farther than the opening sequence.
Article by Sasheen Joseph, Photos by Emma Huerta, Video by Nicole Nelson and Chris Will, Web Design by Genna Nordling
Credits:
Article by Sasheen Joseph Photos by Emma Huerta Video by Nicole Nelson and Chris Will Web Design by Genna Nordling