Jessy Hamilton, a longtime lover of history and a self-admitted political aficionado, is a new U.S. history and economics teacher here at Chamblee. He is new to Atlanta and is looking forward to exploring the city.

Growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, he first started out his adult life as a small business owner

“I sold gift shop-type items over the Internet. I sold, like, mugs, T-shirts, bumper stickers, and I have this niche community that would buy these things,” said Hamilton. “When I first put it out there, I didn’t think anyone would buy anything.”

Eventually, after the recent crippling recession, he shut down the website for good and moved to Denver, where he became a teacher.

“I went out west adventure seeking, like a lot of people do, and got my fill of adventure,” said Hamilton.

Along with his two years in Colorado, he spent ten years teaching in Florida and also spent a year in Kentucky. Just two months ago, he moved to Atlanta and now lives comfortably in a Midtown condo with his partner. He enjoys reading and taking his two dachshunds for walks to the park.

“I started with one [dachshund] – he’s 11 – and the second one, I had a friend who couldn’t take care of it. I watched the dog grow up and never knew I would end up with him,” said Hamilton.

He is absolutely ecstatic to be working at Chamblee this year. After going to eight interviews at schools all around the metro Atlanta area, he is confident he has found the right one.

“This is a very good school. I have experience with over-achieving and underachieving schools and I would say this is at the top,” said Hamilton. “Chamblee was at the top of my list.”

He is looking forward to the rest of his 13th year of teaching. He will be the coach of the quiz team and a co-advisor of the GSA this year. He also wants to become more accustomed to Atlanta, and maybe even catch a baseball game.

“Even though I’ve never lived in Atlanta until now, I’ve always been a Braves fan,” said Hamilton.