Interview with Mr. C

Interview with Mr. C

March 5th, 2017 by Tori Jenkins & Abbey Fitzpatrick

Where are you originally from?
Well, Im originally from Solvay, New York (Just west of Syracuse)

What inspired you to become a principal?
I started out as a teacher and a Guidance counselor, and I thought that I could make some changes that I thought would help schools, like scheduling, things like that. There were a lot of administrative duties I liked doing as a guidance counselor so I thought I'd take it to the next level. It's also nice to be in charge of your own building.
What's the most rewarding part of the job?
Working with students; seeing them progress from ninth grade to graduation, seeing them getting accepted to colleges and the workforce, or the military. But you can't overlook the day-to-day things too, like clubs and activities and sports. That's probably why I'm a secondary principal, for the addition of sports.
What's your favorite memory as principal?
I guess its having kids who have already graduated and in the workforce come back to say "hello" and seeing how they've progressed. That's especially rewarding for me.

What made you want to come to sandy creek?
As you may or may not know, i was an interim principal at Pulaski last year, and I like the area. I've been working in rural schools for most of my career and when Mr. Falkner said he needed an interim principal, I jumped at the chance. I really like rural schools.

What do you like most about rural schools?
The size! You get to know students a little more quickly, which takes quite a while in some of the bigger schools. Some schools i've been in have had around 1200 students in them and boy, it takes some time to get used to all of them.

What are some of your hobbies?
I do crossword puzzles. In pen. I play a lot of golf, I read. Those are my hobbies. I try to garden, but I can't make anything grow.

What's your favorite sport?
Well, I coached football, wrestling and baseball. If I had to choose a favorite: Baseball.

What's your favorite baseball team?
The Yankees.

Best high school memory?
Probably my best high school memory was getting accepted to Cortland. I think that was my best memory. Of course, the friendships you make too. I'm still friends with a lot of people I went to school with.

Have you been in New York all your life?
All my life. I'm a native New Yorker!

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