At which school in the district are you a principal?
Stroudsburg High School.
How long have you been a principal at SASD?
2 years, I started last October.
What is your favorite part of being a principal?
The fact that I’m able to influence more than just a classroom and I can help many more people. For instance, I have a caseload of 400 students and I get to interact with many people and help make a difference.
What was your favorite subject in high school and is that still your favorite subject now?
Gym, if that counts, and social studies. I taught social studies for about eight years. It’s a passion and a way to connect with many people.
What would you be if you had gone into another profession and why?
I would definitely be a police officer or a part of the military. I would get to serve the public and make the community better. It has always been about making a difference within the community- it’s the reason I became a principal.
What is one piece of advice you would share with your students?
You always have the strength to do it; the answers are in you. Or, it’s not the mistake that defines you, it’s how you overcome them that defines you.
If you could have one superpower what would it be and why?
To read minds because I’m someone who wants to know how you truly feel. If you could read someone’s true thoughts you could help them more. Some people do not want to open up for many different reasons but sometimes what they are thinking I can use to help them in the long run.
How and when did you know being a principal was what you wanted to do?
Very early on in my first year of teaching, I knew that if I wanted change that I would need to be the one to make the change in administration.
Who do you look up to?
Many of my college professors and high school teachers really impacted me and showed me I could have a bigger impact. It’s a cool experience to mentor students.
What will your life look like after you retire?
Quiet. My wife and I want to live off the grid and enjoy the quiet, be far away, a life not connected to electronics, and just a nice place for all the family to come and visit.
What is your favorite memory of being at SASD?
Many of the traditions. It is so unique to see so many traditions continued through the years, and being able to see my student walk the stage at graduation.
What is something that most people may not know about you?
I worked in construction for a long time in my life probably 20 plus years. Starting from when I was 12 all the way through college and even when teaching, I would work in construction over the summers.
What is a hidden talent of yours?
To always see the potential in people and being able to know when and how to push someone the farthest they can go.
What is your proudest achievement?
A few different things. Coaching and all the great feelings that comes with it as I see the growth in my students and seeing them attributing their success to coaching. Also seeing the kids walk at graduation, taking students from where they are and where they want to be and just knowing I could have been a small part in that.
What is one thing you wish people knew about being a principal in general?
I really want people to understand that we are just doing what is best for every student in the building. They see us as someone you see when you mess up. We just mean the best for you, it’s not the highlight of our job. We get excited to see our students success, it’s so much more than discipline.
What makes you smile?
I enjoy coming to work. I came into a setting that is so good for the students and the community that it makes school more enjoyable and seeing other kids having a good day, it just makes me smile.
When you retire one day, what will you miss most about working at SASD?
Working with the students and teachers, it’s just something that I’ve committed my life to.
What is something your students have taught you?
Patience. Kids are so different and it requires patience. For example, for a teacher to stop a lesson and help a kid and have to take 10 steps back really takes patience.
