Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School -

Bishop Timon welcomed a new principal this summer, following Doctor Newton's retirement at the end of last school year. Filling the role was Kevin Ryan, a class of ‘86 alumnus and educational leader who previously worked at Alden Senior High School. Mr. Ryan worked there for twenty years, and in that time he helped create a number of student-led programs that continued after his departure. 

    

I was lucky enough to ask him some questions about his transition from Alden, a small town 20 miles away - to his current position at Bishop Timon. 

  

After retirement, Mr. Ryan had informal conversations this past spring with school acquaintances which then led to an interview with the Bishop Timon Hiring committee. After discussion, he was hired and assumed the role on June 15th, the same day that he graduated from Timon 40 years prior. His first day at school was July 8th, “Settling down, moving stuff in, meeting people, and becoming familiar with priorities and the environment.” 

Alden is a public high school that has approximately 500 students, Timon on the other hand has roughly 275. This smaller number creates a different environment, and nearly a different role for a principle. I asked Mr. Ryan how this affected him and he said that “Coming to a private school is a whole different world in some respects, But what makes it easier is this is where I'm from, Timon is in my blood, it's in my family,” 

Transitioning into a brand-new environment can be difficult, but this wasn't the case for Mr. Ryan, as he grew up in South Buffalo. He continued by saying, “When I thought about what I was going to do when I retired, I never imagined going back into educational leadership. Timon is the only place I could do this, and I feel confident that we can make a difference.”

 And further, when asked about his experience with new colleagues he said that “Meeting the teachers was awesome. I didn't know what to expect, but I later became inspired by them. They talk about how much they love their students, and love working here. And some refer to it as home which told me that there was a good culture here, and when that’s your starting point you know you're in a good place.”