The best part of Grant Schultz’s job—Washington High School associate principal in charge of activities—is the people.
“It’s all about the kids and the relationships—the connections you build and the support that you can provide them,” he explains. “To see the rewards and accomplishments, and being able to celebrate everything that they’ve done, it’s just extremely rewarding to have that connection with them.”
Since the beginning, academics and athletics have been a major part of Schultz’s life.
“From an early age through middle school, [I was] playing sports all season. The same thing in high school, playing all four years in every season—it was just a part of life,” he says. “And honestly, I wouldn’t be here without the academic portion of it. [My] undergrad and graduate degrees allowed me to get where I’m at today.”
At first glance, many think that the role only encompasses athletics. That is far from fact.
“The biggest thing people are surprised with is that it’s not just sports; it’s the clubs and the fine arts as well,” he explains.
“Our directors and coaches are very passionate about our kids here and passionate about their academics as well as athletics,” he adds. “With all that, it makes my job much easier.”
Not only is Schultz grateful for his team at Washington, but he’s also thankful for his activities director colleagues, Kennedy High School’s Aaron Stecker and Jefferson High School’s Chris Deam.
“We’ve been able to do more things together than we would have been able to do if we were on our own,” says Schultz. “We’ve got a new track timing system and the cross country timing system that we all work on together. To do all the things you need to do to run that system by yourself is pretty difficult. Being able to do those things together makes you feel like you’re doing it for our district kids.
“And the last thing,” he adds. “It’s always a great day to be a Warrior.”