February, 2026
By Nayobi Rivera, Staff Reporter
Coming all the way from Killeen, Texas, teacher Adrian Spencer stepped up to the plate and took a swing to be the new 9th-grade human geography teacher. Will it be a home run or will it be a strikeout?
A graduate of Concordia University in Texas, Spencer advanced up the educational ladder and became a teacher at KAC. He is not only here to educate, but to share and to give what is necessary to his students. Not only was he at Concordia for educational purposes, but Spencer had a talent for baseball. Scouts saw him play in high school, and he eventually earned a scholarship for it. After college, Spencer began to teach in KIPP Austin Academy of Arts and Letters. Teaching Social Studies, he made his students his priority, and helped to support them always.
Spencer grew up in a military family, moving to different countries around the world, starting in Germany, South Korea, Japan, and California. Eventually his family moved to Killeen, Texas. Contrary to what some say about moving around keeping a person from being able to find who they are, to find a place in the world, Spencer proved that theory wrong. He was always able to find a way to fit in. “Being a chameleon is who I am, I know who I am, ” he said.
Growing up, he was exposed to both the good and the bad, having one brother excelling in both academics and athletics, while the other was the polar opposite. But growing up in Killeen, Texas, the city that at the time was the 6th most dangerous city in the United States, Spencer experienced hardships such as friends passing away at a young age due to violence. He says this led him to build a wall of numbness, keeping himself closed. This led him into a very vulnerable state, which eventually put him on the wrong side of the tracks. Luckily, Spencer said, he had friends who recognized his talent in people skills as well as athletics. They advised him not to “screw this up.”
Spencer’s motivation resides with his mother. He said he grew up seeing his mother give up her dream, leaving her business In Germany, starting from zero, working two jobs, raising 3 children on her own. This led him to be who he is. “If a woman can travel thousands of miles to a foreign country and do that, then why can’t I?” he said.
His goal as a teacher is to hopefully inspire and get kids to understand that academics is important, but to find something they’re passionate about and to stick with it, and to do it for the right reasons. His advice for his students is to use the time you have on this earth wisely. “If you want to be an influencer, don’t be afraid to pull the camera out, cause at the end of the day, no one cares, it’s YOUR livelihood,” he said.
His advice to teachers is to always be open and honest with your students. The moment you have a relationship with them, it will help you, he said, because they will see you in a different light, which will lead to improvements in and out of the classroom.
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