Ensights Magazine

Maurice Hopkins

Faculty Profile: Maurice Hopkins

Editorial Staff
Maurice Hopkins teaches history and is the Service Learning Coordinator for the Middle School. He also coaches and finds time to serve the Community Engagement and Inclusion office.
What inspired you to become a teacher?  
I’d have to say, my mother. Although the field of education was by no means my first choice growing up, I saw the impact that she was able to make as a classroom teacher turned school principal. About two years after college graduation, I decided to give teaching a try, and I’ve been teaching ever since. 
 
What drew you to Ensworth?
I grew up in Nashville and have been well aware of the distinguished history of Ensworth. Since 2004, I have been the Program Director for the non-profit, Time to Rise, Inc. We have had a phenomenal partnership with Ensworth for well over twenty years, and I’ve enjoyed working with and getting to know numerous students, faculty, and staff. Once I was notified (in 2012) that there was a position available, I immediately applied. 
 
What is your favorite part of the day?
Advisory time. During this time of the day, you get to really connect with a small group of students and have meaningful conversations. We also get to simply enjoy each other’s company, tell jokes, and swap stories. For the past two years, because of Covid protocols, we’ve spent more time together with our advisees due to having lunch together each day. Though the increased time can sometimes feel a bit “too much,” it has truly been great. We’ve started a movie club, an emerging chess club, and some very valuable study groups. 
 
What is one of your best Ensworth memories? 
It is really hard to just give one, but I’ll try. In the fall of 2019, I walked into my sixth-grade classroom for the first day and noticed that I had a nice number of football players from the sixth-grade team in a particular class. In football, we have a play called “BEACH,” which means to say nothing and do nothing, essentially to just sit still. Well, as I was attempting to get the class settled and quiet, the football team members helped me out and just said, “BEACH, BEACH, BEACH.” From that moment, I knew it would be a great year. The team was undefeated and won the league title in grand fashion, only to have several of the same young men win a title in basketball that year, as well. 
 
The theme of this edition of Ensights is Threads. What do you think are the threads that hold Ensworth together?   
Community, Tradition, Student-Centered 
 
Share 3-5 facts about yourself that others might not know. 
  • I was originally born and raised in west Tennessee. Humboldt, TN to be exact. 
  • I never played high school athletics. 
  • The larger part of my formal education has all taken place in Nashville; 2nd–12th Grade (MNPS), Undergraduate (Fisk University), postgraduate (Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University).  
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Red Gables Campus (K–8)

Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 383-0661

Frist Campus (9–12)

Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 301-5400
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.