When unexpected opportunities come your way, sometimes you just have to grab them with no questions asked. For former Diamond Bar High School woodshop teacher Mike Bromberg, this was exactly the case.

The former woodshop teacher officially left his job in late February to work for the school district, and was promoted as the district carpenter at the Walnut Valley Unified District Office. Chase Holt will take his place as the new woodshop teacher.

A 1998 DBHS alumnus, Bromberg was inspired to teach woodshop at his former high school when he first took woodshop at DBHS, taught by John Jones at the time. When Jones left the job in 2004 to become the school’s current architecture teacher, Bromberg took over the class and had been teaching the woodshop class ever since.

In January, he received news of the job promotion, a big surprise for the former teacher.

“I didn’t expect it at all. But it was something that when it came to me, I went out and took it. I work for the District now and it’s a good position,” he said.

Although he misses being a teacher at DBHS, Bromberg is still able to visit the high school as part of his new job. As the district carpenter, he does a variety of woodworking jobs for WVUSD’s schools and performs skilled carpentry work in altering and repairing various structures in the district.

“It was a little difficult at first, but I took the job because of the better pay and also because it was a good opportunity. I was thinking about my family in my decision,” he said. “Taking this job doesn’t mean I left Diamond Bar forever, I’m still here.”