Twelve years ago , Cha left private sector engineering to obtain his teaching credential so that he could encourage students to pursue careers in engineering .

Even before he completed his teaching credential , Traci Taylor , a director in Teacher Development for Fresno Unified , recognized the skills that Cha would bring to a career pathway program and suggested he interview for a job at Edison High School in the Engineering Pathway .

He has been at Edison ever since teaching engineering and physics . He also oversees the robotics team at Edison , a fun way for students to use their engineering skills .

Garrett Main , a teacher on special assignment in career technical education , said Cha is a caring teacher who takes the time to understand students ’ strengths and weaknesses and creates a supportive learning environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and learning from their mistakes .

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“ He is an enthusiastic and dynamic teacher who is dedicated to making his lessons fun and interactive ,” Main said .

Edison senior Christopher-Michael Garcia had Cha as an engineering teacher his sophomore year and again this year . He ’ s also heavily involved in the robotics team , and plans to pursue mechanical engineering as a career , focused on robotics .

“ What I like the most about Mr . Cha is his teaching style . He ’ s not a traditional teacher with a bunch of lectures and quizzes . Most of what we do is handson learning ,” Garcia said .

“ He ’ s just a really great teacher . He teaches the students well and prepares them for postsecondary education .”

Cha was born in Laos , immigrating with his mom and siblings to the United States in 1989 in search of refuge . They settled in Porterville before moving to Fresno . Cha completed his high school diploma at Hoover High School and enrolled in Fresno State .

His parents had little formal education , limited English and no knowledge of American higher education .

“ I literally was guessing my way through the college process ,” Cha said .

Cha was interested in business law , but decided it was not a good fit . Based on the results of an aptitude test , he decided to study mechanical engineering . An internship with a civil engineering firm in the Bay Area led him to switch to civil engineering .

After working as an apprentice and in civil engineering for 10 years with various firms , he felt drawn to teaching and sharing his love for engineering .

He shares this assessment of himself to encourage his students : “ I may not be the smartest student , but I know I can out work everyone .” He said this is an important message as many students primarily attribute attainment with inherent intelligence .

“ It takes hard work ,” he said .

Cha is married with twin girls . At home , in his spare time , he builds furniture and is adept at customizing various features in his home . He has been building things since he was a child .