Robert Teemer ’27 was working in Landman Library last summer when Dr. Peter Appelbaum, a professor of Education, and Dr. Gudrun Hentges, a professor at the University of Cologne in Germany who had recently completed a research sabbatical at Arcadia, came in after a stroll through campus. 

During their chat, Appelbaum mentioned a Social Action and Justice Education (SAJE) event entitled “The Impact of Federal Policies on Local School Funding and Equality.” Teemer developed the initial idea for the event, and along with Leila Jones ’27, Raenya Rogers ’25, Tiani Young ’25, Alessandra Arehart ’25, and Faheiim Nasir Cooper ’26, put it on in April. Hentges left so impressed that she invited Teemer to speak to her students over Zoom in January.

“It was a nice thing to know that the work I’ve produced while at Arcadia could be expanded upon and to a different place that I’ve never actually been able to step foot in,” Teemer said. “ To me, that is extremely powerful.”

Teemer spoke to the German students about higher education in the U.S., and how the Trump Administration’s policies and rhetoric factor into the system. He noted that there were several commonalities between his classes at Arcadia and the class he spoke to.

“It was really interesting to think that there is normalcy in different forms of education,” he said. “ It was a traditional class size, like the ones that we have at Arcadia; it wasn’t like a big lecture hall, which was something that surprised me.”

Teemer, an Education Studies major with a minor in Pan African Studies, fell in love with history and the idea of teaching during his time as a student at Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia charter school. It was during high school where Teemer learned about the “ripple effect,” which led to his desire to teach and the hope of becoming a university professor one day.

 ”I believe in the idea of the ripple effect,” he explained. “If you cast that stone, you don’t know exactly how far it goes. That stone can inspire many people. To know that a teacher instilled that in me lets me know that the power of education is real.”

For Teemer, that educator was Philip Case, his AP U.S. History teacher at Boys’ Latin.

 ”When I was in high school, part of me was like, ‘oh, maybe I’ll be like a director, or even a wrestler,’ he said. “But when Mr. Case talked about the ripple effect in class, it really made me think about how I love history; I feel passionate about educating. These are the things that excite me.”

Teemer has found the same inspiration at Arcadia through the School of Education and SAJE. He believes that working with people like Dr. Peggy Hickman, associate professor and chair of the School of Education; Dr. Appelbaum; and Dr. Keisha Robinson, SAJE’s Mentorship Director, has made his college experience more dynamic.

“What I appreciate about Arcadia being a smaller school is that you get to meet the community figures and develop a personal relationship with them,” he explained. “People like Dr. Hickman, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Appelbaum. Those are the people who see the power in their students and see the light that they can bring. That’s the one thing that really warms my heart whenever I think about Arcadia: knowing that there’s always people looking out for you, rooting for you.”