Polina Pelipenko | News Editor
December 12, 2025
Every November, starting in 2024, mustaches begin appearing around San Clemente High School. While they range from heavily questionable to genuinely impressive, they all stand behind one purpose. “Movember,” a global initiative centered on raising awareness for men’s mental and physical health, has always been about more than growing facial hair. But on this campus, it started as something small between three teachers, and in just one year it grew into a tradition rooted in connection, community, and the belief that students should see the human side of the people teaching them.
The whole initiative began with one man: Mr. Krogh, who has transformed “Movember” from a simple challenge into a bridge between staff and students. What started as Krogh asking two teachers, Mr. Bisch and Mr. Smith, to participate in No-Shave November with him became an overarching idea that built a strong sense of community in the education field. For him, the mission begins with authenticity. “It’s important as an educator to take your job seriously but not take yourself too seriously,” Krogh said, a philosophy that shapes both his classroom and this initiative.
The movement spread quickly after Krogh created an Instagram page showcasing the participants that first year. Each post included a small description of the teacher, and, while the page began modestly, students soon started clicking. Engagement skyrocketed from last year alone. Students began noticing the mustaches, asking about the cause, and seeing their teachers in a new, more human light. And for Krogh, that connection is everything. “I think students have a ‘BS’ meter where they can tell when a teacher doesn’t want to be there,” he explained. He believes students respond not to perfect teaching or a shell of a person lecturing them, but to the authenticity of a teacher who shows up with genuine intention.
“When a teacher truly cares, students are willing to jump through hoops,” Krogh said. It’s a belief he carries into every class and every effort to build community on campus. His goal isn’t to be a perfect teacher, it’s to be real, and, coincidentally, that’s what makes him such a great one. He builds trust with students who often assume teachers exist only within the walls of their classrooms.
Krogh’s movement to build connections between students and teachers doesn’t end with Movember; it extends into his everyday classes. Whether he’s teaching U.S. History or Macroeconomics, his lessons aim not merely to lecture but to impact students’ lives. “When you remember all students have their own souls, that’s what matters. And if I can even slightly impact their long lives, my mission’s complete,” he shared. His philosophy allows students to feel understood not just as grades, but as people.
Other teachers have felt the impact too. As Mr. Bisch put it, “Krogh’s movement helped bridge the gaps between departments, which was awesome because all of these dudes are world-class humans I’d always respected from afar and am now stoked to know much better.” “Movember” didn’t just unite students and teachers, it united the staff itself, who otherwise may have never interacted beyond their classrooms.
Krogh often speaks about the teachers who shaped his own life, not the ones who simply taught subjects he liked in high school, but the ones who cared enough to go beyond the curriculum and shaped him as a person, not just as a student. “I try my hardest to be a teacher who cares because those teachers truly change your life,” Krogh said. That desire forms the core of his legacy on campus.
Now that “Movember” is coming to an end and the mustaches have reached their full (and sometimes questionable) glory, Krogh’s goal is clear; not to grow the best mustache, but to introduce a sense of community, one that will outlast the fallen mustaches and continue to strengthen teacher-student connections long after November fades.
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