AP's Message

Vice Principal William Hawthorne II

I have been lucky enough to live in a number of places in my lifetime. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the shadows of the University of Michigan campus. I graduated from Pioneer High School, with famous alums Ken Burns and Bob Segar to name a couple. I then moved on to a year in southern Vermont. I began attending University of Massachusetts at Amherst the following year to pursue a degree in anthropology with a focus in historical archaeology. I participated in an archeological dig in historic Deerfield, Massachusetts and lived in Ireland while I studied at Trinity College in Dublin. Those are a few of my fondest memories from my time in college. After I graduated, I moved to Boston to work in sales for a construction company. I lived a block from Fenway Park which was hard to leave, but... I realized after a big snow storm on April fool's day that my entire life was spent battling the winters of Michigan or New England... It was time to move west. I moved to San Diego in the summer of 1997. I began to pursue my interests in SCUBA where I worked as an instructor for a short period of time before being hired by SAIC as an animal trainer for the US Navy's marine mammal program.

Coming from a family of educators, it was a natural step for me to become a teacher. I decided to go back to school and earn my teaching credential in History and a Master's Degree in Education. I worked at Madison High School in Clairemont where I taught Social Studies including AP U.S. History and introduction to web-design. I coached freshman football and helped out with various other sports. I moved into the Dean of Students role at the high school. My next stop was La Jolla High School, where I served as the Vice Principal for two and half years. I saw the opening at Pershing as a great next step and an incredible opportunity to be a part of a great community.

I have been very luck to establish incredible professional relationships at the different schools that I have worked, but also many lifelong friendships. I know that trend will continue here at Pershing!

"I am a lucky man to count on both hands the ones I love" -Eddie Vedder

The first two are my wife and daughter, Ann and Allison. Although she is my only child, she keeps me going in so many directions. Ann and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary last April. The three of us can be found at the beach, playing whatever sport that Allison is into for the moment, or checking out a new restaurant in town. We spend as much time with our families in the Washington D.C. area and Portland, Oregon as possible.

I look forward to what lies ahead. Pershing has been a very welcoming place.

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