What made me want to be a part of VC? 

Okay, I have a long answer for you. I've been a long-time fan of VC. I almost came to school here when I was in grade 8. It was a really tough choice to come to Vancouver College or go to the school I ended up going to eventually, which was Prince of Wales - not too far away from here. I went to Prince of Wales and that was great. I had a great high school experience, but I had lots of friends, even from when I was that age, that went to VC. I played a lot of basketball. I played high-level basketball. I played against VC. I played on provincial teams and at the university level with guys who went to VC. A lot of my friends through that went to VC. A lot of my colleagues early in my teaching career were VC alumni. And I've always admired the community aspect of the school. The Alumni Association is so strong and I could see the love and care and passion alumni have, and the connection people keep with the school 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years after they graduate.

So I always thought, wow, there's something special in the water there. I think at some point I should try to make my way there. The community, the faith-based aspect… It all really drew me near and dear. The high academics, the athletics, service learning - all of it.

What do you like the most about VC?

Again, it's the community aspect, the brotherhood that everyone feels. I really feel faith-based education is imperative, uniting us all in goodwill, so to speak. So that goes beyond just the BC school curriculum, which is amazing. But I think we do add a nice extra flavour, so to speak, in terms of bringing our faith aspect in and how to create better men. One of our sayings is about becoming better men, and I think by having our faith aspect in the school, that's paramount.

Anything that you consider a problem?

Well, I've only been here for such a short time. It's just a couple of months, and I like to focus on all our strengths, but at that same time, nothing's perfect. I think we could always improve. So what could we do better? I wish we could have an opportunity for more boys to attend. I mean, we're a pretty big school, and I know that there are a lot of very good boys that would love to come to this school, but there isn't an opportunity because we can only serve so many. So I don't know, in a miraculous way, if we could service more in some way maybe, but I know that's not necessarily doable right now. 

Is there anything you plan to change in the future?

Coming in as a new administrator to the school, I always want to keep a keen eye and learn the school, learn more about the community and the culture. So that's what I'm doing right now. I guess after spending some more time here and doing an analysis of how things are going I could maybe start to generate some ideas of where we can improve for sure. But as of right now, it's still a little early.

What are your favourite hobbies or things to do?

I love sports, so I love to play sports. Right now, I have a really bad hip. You may have seen me limping around the school. I actually need a hip replacement. But even just as of a few months ago, I was playing soccer three days a week, playing men's league soccer, staying active in basketball, weight training... So lots of physical activity for sure. I also love... I'm still a little bit of a gaming gamer. I play Xbox, believe it or not, even in my old age. That's something I do with my kids, which is fun. I like to read. I have a dog, so I like to walk my dog, listen to music. I like all sorts of music. If you look at my Spotify playlist, you'll be like, 'Wow, what's this guy doing?' He's everywhere. I have every genre. I like a big variety. Yeah, those are some of my hobbies. 

Actually, my favourite hobby is to watch my kids do their thing. I have three kids. They're all active in multiple sports, and I try not to miss any of their games. My heart is there to watch my kids do their sports. My wife and I were both big into sports, so we feel it's a bit of a gift to get to watch our kids do their thing now too.

What made you want to get into education?

I knew I wanted to be a teacher very, very early, so I'd say probably by grade eight, just going to high school. I loved being in class. I loved PE. I loved social studies. I loved math. I loved science. I thought, 'Wow, I just really liked being in school.' I thought, 'I don't want to leave school, so maybe I should be a teacher.' My cousin and my brother are much older than me. My brother was in teaching, my cousin was in teaching. I thought I would like to follow in their footsteps and become a teacher. As I went through high school, I actually did a lot of coaching. When I was in grade 11 and 12, I helped coach some of the grade 8 and 9 teams at the school. When I was in grade 12, I actually taught grade 8 PE as part of a grade 12 credit. I just knew that I wanted to be in that profession. When I went to university, I studied to be a teacher. Then I taught for many years. I went back and did my master's degree and wanted to become a school administrator, and here I am.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Here, in one capacity or another; I think I'm really enjoying this experience. Like I said, I've been a long time fan of the school. I'm thrilled to be part of the team here. In five years, I'd love to continue being a leader here at the school and helping give all the boys a great experience. I think I would like to be here for a long time.

Who do you think in your life has made the biggest impact?

I would probably say my dad and my brothers. For sure, my dad was always in my corner supporting me in whatever I did, whether it be through my schooling or my sports, absolutely. He is a very hard worker. My dad was a tireless worker, an immigrant from Greece who came to this country with pretty much nothing, worked very hard, and was smart, and built up our family. He's just the best role model I could ever have. He passed away many years ago now. I miss him dearly every day, but I value the lessons he taught me. Both my brothers are my best friends, which is great. One of my brothers is actually my neighbour. We built houses side-by-side. He's also a school administrator. His wife is also a school administrator. My wife is a teacher. We're a big family of teachers. I guess all my family has been really my role model, so to speak.

What’s your favourite subject and why?

I have two. Social studies and physical education. I love social studies; I love history in particular. I feel that by looking back to the past we can see a lot of what’s coming in the future. I’m sure you’ve heard history tends to repeat itself, so I think we can do a lot of learning from our history. And also physical education. These are both subjects I taught earlier in my career. I think it’s super important to teach young people the value of a healthy active lifestyle moving forward, for health benefits, for mental health wellness, for everything. Just building good habits. I think taking care of your body is very important. I think it’s funny that we all often buy, for example, a camera or computer at Best Buy and the salesperson says, “Do you want to buy the extra insurance?” and we often say, “Sure, just in case something happens to the camera." But maybe sometimes we don’t even take such good care of ourself, our very own body, so I guess taking some extra warranty on ourselves by having good habits. And I think that starts by teaching young people good habits in PE class.

Do you feel that having a strong relationship with God is important?

Absolutely. God is probably our strongest relationship. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Through him, everything and anything is possible. I feel that having a relationship - a personal relationship with God, with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity - that's the most important thing. I think we live through gospel values, and that's laid through by the Lord Himself.

What do you value most in life?

What I value the most in my life is health, family, friends, faith. These are the cornerstones. Through our faith, hopefully, we can preserve our health. Through good habits, we preserve our health and relationships with our family and friends. Often in today's society, we can get drawn into material objects, which are fine. There's nothing wrong with material objects. Everyone likes some nice things. But at the core, I feel strong relationships with God, family and friends, colleagues. That is the real secret sauce to a happy life.

Do you have any pets?

My dog is Stella. She's a three-and-a-half-year-old mini poodle. She only weighs 11 pounds, but she's the boss. We're so happy to have her. Yeah, she's my first dog as well. I didn't get a dog until well into adulthood, but my wife and I always joke that we'll never go without a dog again. They just bring so much happiness.