I always love hearing how people were drawn to or chose a career in education.   I can honestly say that I was born into it, literally.   I was a born on a Friday night during a high school football game between the Adrian Antelopes and the New Plymouth Pilgrims.  My dad  Jerry Huntley, head coach of the Antelopes, missed the start of the game for my birth.  He left the hospital shortly after I was born and got to the game with his team trailing just before half.   His adrenaline and excitement was so infectious that the team rallied in the second half to win the game.  The headline in the local paper the following day read: "Huntley Has Two Victories."  

I was raised in Southern Oregon the only child of two teachers.  Needles to say most of my early memories revolve around school.   I tagged along with my dad to practices and games, where I was often the halftime entertainment.   Most of my babysitters were students of my parents, who would also drag me around with them to various school events.  It was not uncommon for me to be right in the middle of the High School Student Section or hoisted up on someone's shoulders during a game.   While my dad was coaching, supervising or working at various events, I had unfettered access and took full advantage.  I fondly remember one such experience, where I ended up helping decorate for PROM, even though I was still in elementary school.   FYI, It is not a good idea to leave a 10 year old in charge of blowing up balloons and unsupervised with the helium tank.   As I moved from elementary school through junior high and then eventually to high school, my role in these various school events changed from a spectator/nuisance to an active participant.   If there was an event at school more than likely I was there.   I graduated from Sutherlin High School in 1993 and headed off to Western Oregon University to play football and become a veterinarian.   

It was at Western I realized I was meant to be a teacher.    I wasn't really enjoying my pre-vet classes and found myself taking every class I could from Dr. Moran and Dr. White, human geography professors who for whatever reason had the ability of making me hang on every word, intertwining history, geography, politics  with a some personal story telling that keep me wanting to know more.  Sometime during my sophomore year after analyzing my transcripts, I called home to let my parents know I was switching  my major to education.  The rest they say is history, pun intended.   I eventually received an undergraduate and graduate degree in Secondary Education from Western Oregon University.  In addition to my mother and father, It was the many great educators that I had throughout my k-12 experience at Sutherlin and a few inspirational professors at Western that were my inspiration to pursue a career in education.   

After college, I followed in my father's footsteps, the late great Jerry Huntley, becoming a social studies teacher.  I started my career as a teacher and coach at North Marion High School, in Aurora, Oregon.  NM was a great place to start my career.   The school size allowed me to be involved with a lot of different activities and to quickly connect to the students and community. My time at NM still remains some of the most fond years of my career.  I have stayed in touch with many of the students and families I met during those years.  I'm not exactly sure what it was about NM, but it was definitely special.  I then had the opportunity to move to Tigard High School and continue my pursuit of improving as a teacher and coach.  The move allowed me to grow and to focus on my skills in the classroom.  In addition it was at Tigard where my love of educational technology was fostered and cultivated.   I was able to gain a lot of insight from Jerry Westfall and the award winning TigerNet Program that he built.  Because of my own interest and abilities, I was tapped and began providing staff PD around the creation and use of Power Points and Websites.  My administrators and colleagues at Tigard saw something in me and encouraged me to become an administrator, by selecting me for the Portland Metropolitan Leadership Initiative.  It was a program designed to study the leadership styles of administrators selected by other administrators.  It was a very unique opportunity that I am still very thankful for.  I had a great mentor/advisor and was able to learn along side a very talented group of administrators. 

A few years later I got my first administrative job as the Principal of Perrydale Middle/High School, a small 1A school south of McMinnville, Oregon.  It was a great place to start my administrative career.  Because of the size, I had to wear many hats and I was exposed to various aspects of school administration.  In big districts, administrators often have very specialized roles and are responsible for a small piece of the puzzle.   In a small district you have to do it all, maybe not at the same scale, but on some level none the less. Eventually, I ended up back where I grew up in Douglas County, at Roseburg High School.  I truly enjoyed the four years I spent working as an assistant principal in charge of curriculum and testing at RHS.  I worked with some wonderful people who I learned a great deal from and was lucky enough to have Karen Goirigolzarri as a principal and mentor.   I'm not sure I will ever be part of team that was as cohesive as the group of administrators were at RHS.  I left Roseburg for the opportunity to become the Principal at my Alma Mater, Sutherlin High School.   

Being the principal of the small town high school where you attended and where your dad taught and retired from, is both a really neat and an extremely odd experience wrapped up into one big unbelievable story.   On one hand you get to have relationships with students and their parents, even grandparents with whom you went to school with and/or who have known you, all your life.   You are vested in their success and that of the school on a level not otherwise realized in another setting.   It can be extremely special at times.  On the other hand and to quote a song lyric "You are always seventeen in your home town" (Cross Canadian Ragweed) which rings so true on so many levels.  Some people are unable to move beyond the perspective of their youth, either because of the nostalgia they attach to that period of life and/or due to a lack of worldly experiences.  Relationships can also be a little fickle in a small town, especially when someone is willing to upset the apple cart if you will.   Some day maybe I'll write a tell all book about the experience, but for now we'll just leave it at, unique.  Despite some of the partisan issues, that I dealt with, I am proud of the work I did at SHS during my 7 years as principal.  I am pleased with the co-curricular programs, I helped restore and/or create and still smile watching those programs as they continue to grow and provide opportunities for students.  

Currently I am working as a Curriculum Administrator overseeing Instructional Technology for the Eugene 4J School District.   It is absolutely a dream job, combining my two educational passions: Curriculum Design and Technology.  I essentially get to geek out every single day designing professional development and working with teachers on how to incorporate technology into the classroom.   I am constantly learning, sharing and just enjoying doing what I'm doing every single day.   I get to work with some outstanding people with a progressive approach to educating kids.