Old School Meets New School

I graduated from high school in 1994. After moving to Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Sin City itself, I spent my formative years in the Clark County School District public schools. From Nate Mack Elementary to Cannon Jr. High, to the brand new Green Valley High School, I ebbed and flowed through my education, always looking for a place to belong.

It took some time, but in the fall of 1993, I finally found my place. As one old school was shutting its doors, a new one was opening them. Ironically, the doors were attached to the same building. The Las Vegas Academy was reborn from the metaphoric ashes of Las Vegas High School. One of the oldest high schools emerged as the newest by planting the seed of the arts into the desert landscaping.

My experience at LVA, even if only nine months long, changed me. I was a theatrical kid with a creative mind who loved music and black tights and Doc Martens. When I arrived on LVA's campus in August of 1993, I knew I had found my people. This small, quirky arts school was buzzing with creative energy, and for the first time in all my years of school, I was able to focus on something other than being the black sheep who wore funny clothes. That didn't matter. All that mattered was embracing the arts.

Here we are in 2017. It's the second quarter of the school year and I am still here at Las Vegas Academy. No, I'm not still trying to graduate high school, I came back to LVA to teach. Since 2001, I've woken up at 5am to get ready for high school. Walking into the same building I took English class in, I now teach English and Creative Writing. This somewhat surreal experience of student becoming the teacher has filled me with joy, frustration, fear, and inspiration almost daily.

Twenty-five years later, The Las Vegas Academy is still a place, nestled in the neon chaos of Downtown Las Vegas, providing a place to belong for the wayward artist, the dedicated academic, the floundering philosopher, and the 41-year-old teacher who still wears black tights and Doc Martens.