After five years in the principal’s office at Champaign’s Jefferson Middle School, JESSE GUZMAN is a few weeks into Year 2 leading Urbana High — “and loving every minute of it,” he says. “The students and staff are amazing.”
The son of a third-generation Mexican-American mom and a dad who immigrated to the United States, Guzman became the first member of his family to graduate from college, as both his parents expected him to.
One year into his studies at Saint Louis University, he pivoted from future scientist to educator in training — and never looked back. He was hired to teach social studies at Edison Middle School at a job fair fresh out of college and has been in C-U ever since — rising to assistant principal, middle school principal and now the job he saw himself in all along, high school principal.
Guzman, who earned his master’s in educational administration from the University of Illinois, took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 246th installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small.
On my office walls, you’ll find … fall-related pictures that will remind people of Halloween.
My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is … that we are professional and respectful in all settings with each other and with students.
My professional role model is ... Joe Williams, principal at Central High School. He was the first principal I worked for when I started teaching.
At the time, he was the principal at Edison Middle School, where I got my first teaching position. He inspired me to pursue administration.
The hardest thing about being a leader is … getting beyond the technical work and getting to the adaptive work. That is when you change mindsets and actually start to break down barriers.
When it comes to my favorite moments in this job … this is hard but it is watching a student meet their goal — like getting the grade they worked hard for in a class or getting into their first-choice university/college.
I can’t live without my ... Google calendar.
The three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are … responsive, compassionate and dedicated.
My philosophy on meetings is ... that they must have an objective and essential question. They must start on time and end on time. Finally, meetings must be solution-oriented — everyone must be problem solvers and be proactive.
The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is …what is your area of growth?
I’m frugal in that … I don’t like to shop.
The first thing I do when I get to work most days is … review the number of staff out for the day to see how many subs we have and how many classes are uncovered.
For lunch … I’m lucky to have five minutes for lunch during the school year. However, when I do have time, Cactus Grill is the best.
I wind down after work by … going to OTF (Orangetheory Fitness) when I can.
The last luxury in which I indulged was …
spending a week this past June in a cabin near Pikes Peak in Colorado. I spent that week with family.
The most beneficial college class I took was … The Principalship at the U of I with Dr. Laura Taylor as the professor. Dr. Taylor had been a principal and shared her experiences. It was practical and not theoretical.
As far as the last good book I read goes … this is the one thing I wish I had time for — reading a good horror novel.
I’m up and at ’em every day by … 5:30 a.m. — and even earlier on Tuesdays.
My exercise routine consists of … going to OTF two to four times a week.
When it comes to my career calling … after my first year in college, I wasn’t happy pursuing a degree in chemistry/biology so I switched to education. I wanted to work with teenagers and teach history and civics. I followed my passion.
As for being an administrator, that decision didn’t happen until I was in my second or third year of teaching.
The first job I ever had was … paperboy for the Galesburg Register-Mail. Then my second job was at Kmart when I turned 16.
The worst job I ever had was ... being a paperboy and having to get up early on Saturdays and Sundays — at 4 a.m. in the middle of winter.