The secret life of an assistant principal

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If you are a student at Desert Vista, you would know that the staff works hard and that they do their jobs very well. But do you know how they got to where they are now?

For Tomika Bethea, the assistant principal for student activities, working at a high school was a dream come true. Although, this job was not her first choice.

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona as an only child, Bethea’s hugest inspirations were her parents, Molly and Waldo. In her early years, she had her heart set on being a doctor or lawyer. That was, until she got the opportunity to see the life of a lawyer in her junior year of high school and thought it was dull.

“Medicine freaked me out, because I don’t like blood and body parts, gross,” said Bethea.

Ms. Bethea was a Tempe High School graduate and attended Arizona State University. In 2001, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education in chemistry, and she has two Masters Degrees from University of Phoenix.

“I got another opportunity to shadow my 8th grade civics teacher and loved it. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said Bethea.

Even though this was a dream come true for her, all jobs come with their pros and cons. In Ms. Bethea’s case, she loves to work with students here at Desert Vista and see how the teenage mind works. One of the worst parts of being an assistant principal is paperwork and suspending kids from school.

“I loved high school. When you work in a high school, you do it for two reasons. You either loved it or you hated it. I was a girl who loved high school and just wanted that to be a part of my life forever and share the experiences that I had with others.”
When she is not working, she likes to watch football with her newly engaged fiancé, Najja. At the moment, she is going to school to get her Doctorate degree and hoping to graduate in 2016. Wedding planning is crucial for her right now and she is looking towards the end of August for her wedding.