On Wednesday, Rockhurst will host a Memorial Mass and reception in celebration of the life of longtime English teacher Andrew Hagedorn. Hagedorn passed away Sept. 7 at age 76.
Hagedorn did not return to Rockhurst this school year after he was forced to leave during second semester of last year due to health reasons. He taught at Rockhurst for 35 years and spent 50 years as an educator overall.
Hagedorn’s effect on Rockhurst is still felt today. His main area of focus was in the English department, where he served as chair for many years. One thing he changed that current students will notice was shifting the English curriculum to be more focused on writing and composition. He did this because he wanted students to gain more confidence in writing and recognize its importance.
Hagedorn spent the first part of his career at Rockhurst teaching freshmen, working to give them the foundational composition skills they would be using for the rest of their Rockhurst careers. He later started teaching seniors in honors and AP classes, which means no current students had him as a teacher. But it was in these courses where his effect on students really took off.
“He had a high standard for them, but more importantly, he was interested in students setting a high standard for themselves,” assistant principal for academics and English teacher Mike Wickenhauser, who knew Hagedorn for 25 years, said.
Hagedorn made it a point to connect with students on a deeper level. He kept in contact with many of his students after they graduated, simply because he was interested in them and what they were doing.
“He was the greatest teacher I’ve ever had, whether that be high school or college,” alumnus and current Dean of Students Matt Darby said. “His sarcasm was hilarious, with his sense of humor that was rooted in not only comedy, but also intelligence.”
Hagedorn’s passion for teaching was unmatched. Every year, he would pick out one or two students and ask them what they thought about teaching as a profession.
“Without Mr. Hagedorn as my teacher, I probably would have never became a teacher,” Darby said.
Aside from connecting with students, he also built relationships with fellow staff members.
“A lot of our young teachers were moved by a lot of the conversations they had with him,” current English department chair Laurie Prater said. “[I] never had a boring conversation with Andy.”
Hagedorn acted as a mentor for many teachers, giving structure and helping develop teaching methods. As chair of the English department, he hired many notable teachers, such as Wickenhauser and Prater.
“Andy was a teacher’s teacher,” Wickenhauser said. “He impacted many teachers based on what his approach was like to teaching as a whole.”
Along with his lasting effect on Rockhurst academics, he also laid the foundation for the most dominant sport of this century at Rockhurst. Hagedorn founded the Rockhurst swim and dive team, known as the Aquahawks, in 1991. In his nine years as head coach, the team won multiple district championships and made many state appearances.
Even after retiring as swim coach in 2000, Hagedorn still traveled with the team to meets and events just for the love of the sport.
Today, Hagedorn’s fingerprints are still all around the school, whether it be in the English curriculum, the swim team or in the teachers he brought on board. He left a legacy that will be remembered at Rockhurst.
“He was the GOAT, the greatest of all time,” Prater said.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held for Hagedorn on Sept. 16.
The Memorial Mass for him at Rockhurst will start at 11 a.m. on Wednesday with the reception to follow, lasting until 1 p.m. To learn more, or donate to the Andrew S. Hagedorn Scholarship Fund, the school set up a page on its website.
