Thank you, Mr. Fisher!

My teaching career began 21 years ago at my alma mater, St. John’s College High School in northwest Washington, DC. The two years I spent at St. John’s during my junior and senior high school years placed me on a path to achieve greatness. In essence, my decision to transfer to St. John’s College is comparable to the last three lines of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

Starting a new experience often exposes who we are and depending on the experience, some people do not want to have the light shined on them to become exposed. From the first day, I walked on St. John’s College High School’s campus, I loved having the light shined on me and my classmates who made history when after 150 years of being an all-boys school—St. John’s College High School opened its doors to girls in the fall of 1991. Individually and collectively, we were a dynamic group of teenagers who learned early in life to embrace change as a pathway to achieve greatness!

Achieving greatness is not easy and often requires sacrifice! One of the greatest sacrifices came from the teachers and school administrators who worked tirelessly to ensure that we were safe when we entered the doors of the school and to provide us with a college preparatory education. During the 1990’s school administrators, teachers, parents, and students did not have to worry about the current reality of mass shootings. In fact, I cannot even recall one fist fight when I attended St. John’s and as a result we were free. Free to learn, free to grow, and free to evolve into greatness!

Our teachers made a tremendous investment into our academic, personal growth, and development. However, there was one man deeply committed and determined to see that the students attending St. John’s have every possible chance to become great—the late Mr. Vincent L. Fisher.

Mr. Fisher was the school administrator and primarily handled discipline issues; therefore, you did not want to end up in his office. Prior to his career in education, he had served in the United States Army and initially came to St. John’s College High School to work in the J-ROTC program. Over time he transitioned into an administration position, which partially included handling the discipline of students. If you skipped school you were sent to Mr. Fisher’s office, if you disrespected a teacher or engaged in any behavior that violated the code of conduct—you ended up in Mr. Fisher’s office.

Now that I am a life-long educator that started my career teaching high school, I understand that a good administrator in a school setting does not only focus on the bad qualities or behaviors within children. A good administrator handles behavior problems fairly, but also empowers students to discover their greatness, which lies within them. Mr. Fisher did this for me, when I asked him if I could start the first cheerleading squad at St. John’s. He gave me this opportunity, which allowed me to discover my leadership skills and ultimately receive a leadership award on graduation day.

Taking the road less traveled, allowed me to identify my strengths early in life and transition into young adulthood with a sense of self-awareness and purpose. So, when Mr. Fisher, asked me to return to my alma matter, St. John’s College High School, to start my teaching career, I did not hesitate because I knew the decision would place me on the path to professional greatness. Twenty-one years, later, I am still very thankful for my mentor and friend, the late, Mr. Vincent L. Fisher who God used to start my career in education.