“Teaching is in my blood” says a new face in the Clinton community. Everyone’s seen the new suit on the block: Dr. Cayemitte (Ca-yi-mitt). But not many have had the chance to know the man behind the good sense of fashion. That is, until now. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Cayemitte in hopes of letting students learn more about him.
Dr. Fritz Cayemitte has Haitian roots, and is fluent in German and French alongside English. Over the years, he’s racked up achievements, experiences, and pets. But before then, he was just a kid who loved tutoring and playing soccer. Growing up, he became intent on becoming an electrical engineer. However, things didn’t quite work out that way.
Whether it be a stroke of fate or a stubborn refusal to stray away from teaching, Dr. Cayemitte ensured proximity to the teaching field while studying to become an electrical engineer. While studying electrical engineering in Germany he was awarded a scholarship to complete his final year in England. As a result, he earned two bachelor’s degrees—one from Germany and one from England. However, he worked as a teaching assistant at the university and provided private tutoring on the side. Being within reach of the occupation his heart longed for (teaching), Dr. Cayemitte didn’t wait long before taking the final leap. One masters and Ph.D. in mathematics later, and Dr. Cayemitte abandoned his course towards electrical engineering to practice as a math teacher. But it’s well-known that no good career switch comes without a change in scenery, and apparently, math wasn’t the only thing calling his name.
Shortly after taking a leap of faith to do what he loves, Dr. Cayemitte took another and moved to the states. After his many adventures, he taught math at Cold Spring Harbor and Lawrence High School, along with math research at Port Washington prior to accepting a position at Clinton.
When asked about his favorite course to teach after over 20 years of experience, Dr. Cayemitte laughed and exclaimed: “That’s like asking me who my favorite child is!” Nonetheless, he admits to his top three being Algebra II, Pre-calculus, and Calculus. And when asked what he likes most about teaching, he confessed that it’s the satisfaction of seeing his students succeed. According to him, nothing beats the pride of watching his students get good scholarships and attend good colleges. Notably, two students from his research program got into Princeton and Harvard, and he remains in anticipation of many more successes.
Additionally, he has a son and daughter, who attend Northwestern and Stony Brook, while his youngest is still toiling away at middle school under the guidance of her avid mathematician father.
It goes without saying that there’s nothing students appreciate and respect more than a teacher who loves his subject. Perhaps more surprising are his hobbies. One of his opening lines when teaching a new class, writing from experience, is: “If I have free time, anywhere where it’s warm, you’ll find me on a jet ski”. He even went as far as to say that he’s more likely to be found on a snowmobile than skis anywhere where it’s cold. Alongside being an avid jet skier, Dr. Cayemitte enjoys going to the gym, eating at restaurants, watching movies with his family, and traveling. Traveling was a hobby of his when time still permitted, and he’s explored over 8 different countries during his time in Europe. All the traveling left a positive impression on him, and he’s admitted that a goal he’s been excited about working towards is embarking on a two-week European vacation with his family in the near future. He’s especially excited about visiting Brazil, Portugal or Spain, countries that have been on his bucket list for the longest time.
Another one of his more surprising passions discovered was his love for animals.“My house used to be a zoo” he exclaimed, referring to his current Long Island abode. Naturally, a zoo always has lots of stories. Starting with three chickens, Dr. Cayemitte claims only one is left standing, after one’s death due to natural causes and another’s abduction by a selfish hawk. He has also owned a hermit crab, a turtle, and 2 birds that flew away. Left in the house are his daughter’s cat and a chicken named Allie. While void of dogs, Dr. Cayemitte confesses that it’s only because they’re a lot of work, like“kids that never grow up”.
Lastly, we learned that Dr. Cayemitte has a favorite number. While stereotypes of math teachers dictate it has to be Pi or an answer to some important equation, Dr. Cayemitte’s favorite number is more sentimental. His favorite number, reminiscent of his time as a soccer player in school, is that on the jersey of the team captain and best player on the team, number 10.
The most evident discovery through this interview has been that Dr. Cayemitte is full of surprises. Before interviewing him, he was a fashionable and passionate math teacher with a good sense of humor. But after a bit of conversation, it turns out he’s also a math connoisseur, an avid jet skier, a zealous traveler, pet-lover, and father. He has many stories, experiences, and math lessons he enjoys sharing with anyone curious. It goes without saying that Clinton is more than lucky to have needed an interesting, devoted, and approachable person to teach Algebra II right around the time that Dr. Cayemitte wanted to work in the city. Fate or not, whatever circumstances have led to Dr. Cayemitte joining Clinton undoubtedly deserve a huge thank you basket.
