In his five years at Chantilly, marketing teacher Chris Kohlasch has become known for his caring and engaging personality. After growing up in Boston, Kolasch moved to Loudoun County and graduated from Broad Run High School in 2008. He then attended Old Dominion University, graduating in 2012, and has been at Chantilly ever since.

Many look forward to interacting with Kohlasch every day and appreciate the opportunities he gives for collaboration and active learning.

“He is very enthusiastic and every time we walk into that door, he’s always like, ‘Hey everybody! Let’s start.’ [Kohlasch] is so punctual every day,” Zarbo said. “He is determined with his teaching and is very proud of what he does,”

Kohlasch enjoys working with students both in and out of the classroom as not only a teacher, but also a DECA sponsor and hockey coach.

“My favorite part about teaching in Chantilly is definitely the students that we have in our classes,” Kohlasch said. “We build strong relationships with our students in DECA competitions and outside of school field trips .”

Kohlasch decided to become a marketing teacher because of his own positive experiences from high school.

“When I was in high school, marketing was my favorite class, [and I enjoyed] going outside of the classroom [for] visits and field trips,” Kohlasch said. “So really it was my experience that I had in a marketing class in high school [that inspired me to teach marketing].”

Kohlasch decided to teach at Chantilly because it felt like home to him.

“I had heard that the school and community were very similar to what I was used to when I attended Broad Run,” Kohlasch said. “As soon as I arrived at [Chantilly], I immediately felt the connection between the students, faculty, parents and community itself; everyone is there for one another, and it really felt like a great place that I wanted to be at.”

In addition to teaching marketing, Kohlasch has many hobbies that occupy his time.

“When I am not in school, I coach travel hockey [for the] Ashburn Extreme, and when I am not coaching, I try to play golf, watch movies, hang out and I like to take naps,” Kohlasch said.

In his five years at Chantilly, Kohlasch has bonded with fellow teachers as well as students.

“My close friends would be [marketing teacher Karyn] Jones or [marketing teacher Jenni] Piotrowski and [math teacher Nate] Van Nuys that I used to coach with one year for the hockey team,” Kohlasch said.

Respected by students and staff members alike as a marketing teacher, DECA sponsor, coach and friend, Kohlasch has made his mark on Chantilly and will continue to inspire students in the future.

“What makes Mister [Kolasch] so good at his job is he’s very experienced,” sophomore and DECA secretary Lily Craig said. “He did DECA in high school, so he knows a lot about the club and is very passionate about what he does and he’s always there to help us through every step of the way in competition and in teaching day to day.”