Students are not the only new faces to campus. Take Edward Nakata, who is new to the school’s math department.

Before joining the school, Nakata taught math for two years at Castle High School, after working as a full time tutor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa.

He explains that he was eager to educate Radford students, because they are “very friendly and welcoming with open arms.”

In the short time that he’s been at the school, he notices that “the students are very smart and entertaining.”

Mr. Ed, as his students call him, believes that Rams need their staff members to be able to “model, connect, and involve” with pupils in order to increase the quality of education for students.

He also encourages students by telling them that with failure, they can learn. Nakata believes that if students tell themselves they can, then it’s possible to succeed.

“The most important part of a student’s education is to never give up,” he said. “There is no such thing as cannot.”

Outside of work hours, he keeps himself active. For fun, he runs five to seven miles at least six times a week, watches movies, and plays golf. He also keeps his mind sharp by solving Rubik’s cubes.

He has a message to share with his students, starting them off for the new year: “Don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t be afraid to dream big. Just follow your dreams and shoot for the stars.”