Nick Sevilla, a veteran middle school math teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Germantown, who grew up in Montgomery County and attended local schools including North Chevy Chase, Barnsley, Westland, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase, has successfully combined his love for teaching with his passion for gaming. With nine years of experience in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), he embraced new opportunities to engage his students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When schools transitioned to lockdown, he sought to create content as a hobby and began streaming video games for fun. However, he quickly discovered that gaining visibility as a small creator was challenging. In 2022, he launched a TikTok channel (AlgebruhTV) focused on the concept of “the math teacher who plays video games” in hopes of a fun crossover between video games and math.
While his streaming efforts did not yield the expected crossover, his TikTok account flourished, amassing around 125,000 followers in its first year, peaking at 173,000 and currently holding steady at approximately 163,000. The primary game featured on his channel has been Valorant, and within six to eight months, he gained recognition within the gaming community, opening up exciting opportunities such as nearly being signed to a gaming organization and joining TikTok’s creativity program to create advertisements.
His newest venture, @4plus4foodandbev, includes producing in-real-life content centered around food, but he continues to share video game moments on his channel when inspiration strikes. Since launching his initial TikTok account, his students have quickly discovered it, often within just weeks of the school year starting. “They love to say, ‘I found your account, ALGEBRUH,’” he remarked, noting that his new food-focused page has also gained traction among students due to local geotagging.
In 2022, when his account was created, MCPS introduced a new math curriculum, providing ready-made lessons that limited his ability to incorporate gaming directly into his teaching. Nevertheless, he creatively integrates gaming concepts into his lessons whenever possible. For instance, he has used gaming scenarios such as Fortnite’s circle to teach area concepts and discussed frames per second in the context of ratios.
Every year, he decorates his classroom with a different theme, and this year, it’s Mario. By tapping into students’ interests in video games, he cultivates strong relationships with his students, making math more relatable and enjoyable. He notes that creating content has enhanced his teaching and vice versa. “You want your lessons and your content to be engaging and fun. It’s important that both my viewers and students enjoy what they’re doing and learning. Even if I have a bad video or lesson, it’s an opportunity to reflect and improve for the next one. I’m just lucky enough to be doing two things I love simultaneously while I can.”