Zeringue honored as Distinguished Educator of the Year

For Joshua Zeringue, faith and history go hand-in-hand.

“I love the Catholic Church’s rich intellectual history and robust social teaching,” said Zeringue, a social studies teacher at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge.

“In government class I crafted a unit in Catholic Social Teaching that we undertake before engaging in current affairs,” Zeringue said. “The goal is to help them develop a Catholic framework for thinking before jumping into hot button issues.” 

When he isn’t teaching Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses in history and African American studies, or providing professional development to his department members, you can find him leading a new International Cultural Association, working the gate at school football games, attending March for Life or even helping to pressure wash the school. It is that type of dedication that has earned Zeringue the Distinguished Educator of the Year Award for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Born in New Orleans, Zeringue grew up in Destrehan and was homeschooled with the Seton Home Study, which uses a Catholic curriculum. He earned a double major degree in history and theology from Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and a master’s degree in history at LSU. 

“I’m a history teacher because I like telling stories,” said Zeringue. “It is rewarding when students’ imaginations are excited and engaged through good story telling.”

He and his wife Monica have three children: Sam, 11; Noah, 9; and Miles, 1. He is in his seventh year teaching at SMHS, his first teaching job.

“I am very grateful to the great mentors I have had at St. Michael the Archangel, and to the students, who are truly a source of hope and inspiration,” said Zeringue, who is also moderator of the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. 

“It is great to see when students come to understand that their faith tradition is much bigger than modern partisan politics.  When they realize there is something older and more foundational than the politics and strife of the moment. Above all, I want to teach them to be critical thinkers and help them develop compassion and empathy,” he said.