By Iris Krumbein

What is a firefighter doing teaching history here at Collegiate? Upper School history Teaching Fellow Will Titus is a new faculty member for the 2026-2027 school year. While he is currently working with his mentor, Upper School history teacher Shannon Castelo, in her 9th Grade World History and AP Human Geography classes, Titus has had multiple distinctive experiences that have shaped him in his work as an educator.

Titus has a rare set of skills that are a result of his past jobs and experiences. Titus worked as a firefighter for many years, getting his firefighting certification the summer after his freshman year of college, as well as other EMS and rescue certifications for different types of rescues and emergencies. 

Looking back on his later high school years at Hopewell Valley Central High School in Pennington, New Jersey, Titus found a deep-rooted passion in the outdoors. His freshman year, Titus chose the path of cross country and track over his past soccer experience. It was when he was running through the woods every day for cross country that he found his zeal for nature. He said cross country was the “first real introduction to loving the outdoors.”

Running was essentially the start of his path to success for the future. Titus was recruited for running at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he was a part of the team for three years. Through running, he was able to find a community that connected with his future firefighting family. He claimed it had the same aspects as he was “working on a team and building connections.” 

Titus’ firefighting career started in college. Titus was introduced to the Williamstown fire chief in the fall of his freshman year of college, where he and the chief discussed the commitment of the job. Titus began his work in getting certified as a firefighter that spring and was influenced by a friend to join the force. Titus remarked, “It was the best decision I ever made, it was a really special experience.” Titus was impacted immensely by the experience and the journey that got him there.

Titus (right) with fellow firefighter Grant Gattuso.

The summer after his freshman year, Titus joined the Pennington Fire Department after attending training at the Morris County Fire Academy in northern New Jersey, where he officially got certified in firefighting and other emergency services, like HAZMAT. Titus has also received a variety of other certifications over the years, including EMT, wilderness first responder, ice rescue technician, swiftwater rescue technician, and rope rescue operations certifications. Titus’s training at the fire academy equipped him with the skills and certifications to enter burning buildings.

Titus explained that firefighting was an amazing experience, and he had the opportunity to be with people on their worst days, and he could “make those bad days better.” He could be a part of and get to know his community while starting a new chapter of his life in college. Firefighting connected the values that he admired: “Passion for service for others, building human connections, and curating tangible impacts for other people.” 

It was also because of those aspects that he created his own small business, Hopewell Helpers, where he and a group of other teens and college students did “yard work, helping out around the house, and other odd jobs” in and around Hopewell Valley, for any amount of money. He explained that “the point of this model—the ‘Pay-What-You-Want’ model, as I called it at the time—was that we would do the work, and then folks would pay us what was affordable to them, and what they felt reflected the quality of our work. We didn’t set prices, and this allowed us to perform a wide range of services for people who might not otherwise be able to afford them.”

The Pyrenees Mountains in Spain, where Titus led outdoor adventure trips.

The business did become a sensation, as they were interviewed by local news stations and had a team of around 30 people. This two-year passion project connected the values of firefighting that Titus holds close: helping the community and building connections.

The Pyrenees.

Further into his college and firefighting career, Titus was introduced to outdoor adventure. During his junior year at Williams, Titus led a freshman orientation hiking trip. He was later involved with Apogee Adventures, which further developed his love for hiking and the outdoors. After graduating from Williams, Titus was involved in leading multiple teen backpacking trips for Apogee in places like Puerto Rico and Spain. He recalled that the trips were challenging, but being an influence for younger backpackers was one of the experiences that encouraged his love of teaching.

A group of students in the Spanish Pyrenees.

From running in college, to firefighting, to backpacking in the wilderness, Titus found his way to Collegiate School. Titus explained his perspective of the Teaching Fellows program at Collegiate: “We are going to have you work with someone really good, so you become really good.” Feeling his way through Collegiate’s community, Titus had said that Collegiate is “close-knit” and “warm and welcoming.” Titus has enjoyed his time being welcomed into the community, connecting to students by both seeing them throughout the day in his classes and in the hallways, as well as getting to know younger students with his involvement as a coach for Cub green soccer.

All photos courtesy of Will Titus.