Next year, English I teacher Dan Dilber will leave his career of education to become an attorney. He has been thinking about this profession for a little over five years, and next year will be the golden opportunity for his dream to finally come true.

“I believe this new profession will challenge me, but will also bring excitement and rewards to me and my family as well,” Dilber said. “I’m just excited about having a career that I’m passionate about.”

Dilber is currently attending St. Louis University School of Law and plans to complete his schooling this month. Shortly after, he will begin his career with the firm Husch Blackwell. He specifically wants to become a transactional attorney, which handles real estate and development. He wants to do this specific field of law to become a part of major deals involving  buildings and architecture.

“I find it [this profession] the most exciting because you’re a part of major deals and you see real estate, buildings, and architecture all developed with your help,” Dilber said.

Taking on law school and a career change can be difficult on its own, but can be even harder while raising a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old at the same time. Working long hours and working diligently is what Dilber has been doing to become an attorney. To achieve his goal he has to gone to law school, gained the credits he needs, and earned an internship at a firm. This will eventually lead him to work at that firm to become an attorney.

“I think this will affect my life by demanding more of my schedule and my abilities,” Dilber said. ”This will involve high stakes, negotiations and other situations I had not faced in education.”

With this dream, Dilber has a lot of work and dedication that must be presented in able for him to succeed. He loves his career as a teacher but wants to be able to get a more hands on approach with a new interest and career by getting into sticky situations and working them out to showcase his new talents with his new profession.

“Knowing Mr. Dilber and his work ethic and his intelligence I definitely can say he will have a lot success,” junior Mensur Koso said. “Right now he’s just an English teacher going off to be a lawyer, but in 10-15 years from now I think he’s going to be something big.”

Dilber has been an English teacher for seven years but has wanted to become a lawyer since five years ago. From this, he has yearned for a change not only for himself, but for his two children as well. He ultimately wanted to gain a better future by having a job he is more personally and financially pleased with so he can be able to give more to his family, wife and children. However, many still view Dilber’s departure as a loss for the school as a whole.

“I think it’s a huge loss, but that’s what happens,” friend and colleague Sean Fowler said. “Ever since I’ve been here it seems like we’ve lost at least one teacher that had a very large impact on the school. Of course, the fact that he could have had 23 more years of positive impact on students, that’s sad but I think it’s ultimately for the best.”

Starting a new career means leaving an old career behind. One thing he will miss the most about teaching are the good humored students in his classroom who could always make him laugh. He hopes that he left an impression on all of his students to think more critically in their lifetime about their lives as well as what they do as a career in the future. He wanted to affect his students personally by merging learning and humor into the classroom.

“It will be a bittersweet transition,” Dilber said. “On one hand I am saddened to leave the friends I’ve made with colleagues and I am also saddened to lose the opportunity to be surrounded by such enjoyable students. On the other hand I am ready to pursue my new profession. I am looking forward to that change.”