Eliot Engel - Early Life, Education, and Teaching Career

Early Life, Education, and Teaching Career

Engel was born in the Bronx, the son of Sylvia (Bleend) and Philip Engel, an ironworker. His grandparents immigrated from Russia. He grew up in a city housing project Eastchester Gardens and attended New York City public schools. In 1969, he graduated from Hunter-Lehman College with a Bachelor of Arts in history and received a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling in 1973 from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York. In 1987, he received a law degree from New York Law School. He began his political career in local Democratic clubs. He taught in New York City School District and was a guidance counselor. He taught Junior High School at Intermediate School 52 from 1969–1976 and at Intermediate School 174 after that.