A couple of pieces fell into place for Pittston-raised Samuel Wenckus to take his first full-time teaching job as Wiscasset Middle High School’s physical education teacher.

He said his part-time jobs at Mount Ararat High School in Topsham — one as an educational technician, the other as a physical education teacher — were both cut. And his earlier attempts to find a full-time teaching job, when he got his bachelor’s degree in physical education from St. Joseph’s College in Standish in 2013, had come up empty. His first job after college was as an educational technician in special education at Great Salt Bay School.

As he was looking this time for a teaching job, Wiscasset had an opening; and Wenckus knew a past Wiscasset teacher, Matt Cook. Cook had only good things to say, Wenckus said.

Wenckus, 25, really enjoyed the job interview. “Everyone was very inviting.” And he liked the thought of working in Wiscasset, with its small-town feel, he said.

It’s continued to be a positive experience since his hire. The staff has been welcoming, and so have the students. “Just in my first few days, I’ve met all the teachers. They’ve come up and asked how I’ve been doing, and how it’s going. So that’s awesome, being in this tight community at the school.

“Even a bunch of kids who I haven’t even had yet have come up and introduced themselves to me, (which) just keeps emphasizing the point that this community is very welcoming.”

Wenckus just moved to Brunswick. He is an assistant coach in boys lacrosse at Gardiner Area High School, where he graduated in 2009. He played lacrosse and basketball throughout his high school years, and lacrosse throughout college.

He might seek to coach in Wiscasset at some point, he said. “There’s definitely a possibility. I’ve got to get used to the teaching part first, and then see what I have for time. But certainly interested.”

As a teen, he was already thinking about going into physical education. He comes from a family of teachers. “So that’s kind of my blood.” But the first thing he studied after high school was sports management, at Thomas College. Through his classes, he realized that would be more of a business career than he was looking for. He wanted a more active workday, so he pursued teaching physical education. He finished St. Joseph’s four-year program in three years.

He said he’s enthusiastic about the subject he teaches. “I know there’s students who don’t enjoy it that much, and I just try to show them small things in class that might pull them out of their comfort zone a little bit, but that show them it can be successful and that there doesn’t have to be a negative connotation toward physical education, or toward physical activity,” he added.

“It’s little bits at a time, showing them it can be fun. And I’m conveying my enjoyment of it, to them.”

He adds to the classes’ physical activity with information. “I try to include both. When we’re doing the muscular stuff, and the weight-lifting units, I try to bring in anatomy, talking about the different systems and how the body works when you’re doing things, and how it reacts.” Plus, he’s begun talking with another new hire at WMHS, health education teacher Elizabeth Hemdal, about coordinating some of what each talks about in their classes. “Just to show (students) it applies outside this room,” Wenckus said.