A new addition to Bellows Free Academy’s teaching staff, Eric Spencer, had an exciting arrival this year. 

On Jan. 19, Spencer and his partner, Jess, welcomed their daughter, Leila, into this world right before the start of the second semester.

With that being said, there were a lot of questions for The Mercury to ask, one of them being how BFA has supported this milestone in Spencer’s life.

“BFA was very supportive of me and my family,” Spencer said.  He added, ”I didn’t feel too stressed about that.” 

Another aspect that people may wonder about is balancing a new baby on top of being a teacher at BFA. Spencer explained that he has been teaching for years. “I used to teach in Colorado. And I actually moved back here because that’s where our families are from…we wanted to raise her closer to some family, so that’s actually been easier,” Spencer said. 

For anyone who is not a parent, they may wonder what is it like to be a new parent. Is it this big switch and then your parental instincts kick in? Here’s what Spencer had to say: “[You] don’t feel ready…I still feel very unprepared for this. I can’t believe somebody allows me to have a baby. [It] seems ridiculous, [but] you don’t really feel too different. You just maybe hang out with added responsibility. You can’t quite do the same thing as you used to.  I pretty much have to go home right away and give my partner a break and take [Leila] for a little bit. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same.” 

It’s unspoken that being a new parent welcomes new responsibilities, but Spencer seems to be doing very well at that and being a new teacher at BFA.