Thank You For Applying
There it was. I had not seen it for the past 5 years, and yet there it was in front of me, larger than I had remembered. I couldn’t help to smile now, but for years, this very item served as motivational fuel.
Recently, my wife and I decided to sell our home, and began the process of cleaning out old items from the attic. My wife brought down a box stacked of old college notebooks, my first several years of teaching folders, and a few other items covered in dust. Just as I was about to throw this massive pile away without even looking, I quickly glanced through them and found a folder that was roughly an inch and half thick.

It was the “Thank You For Applying” manilla folder that I created back in the winter of 2002 after graduating from Rider University.
Each piece of typed letter, printed email, and postcard letter was addressed to my attention and thanking me for applying to their district. I saved each and everyone. Yet, the pile after undergrad was relatively small, as I was very fortunate to land a job several months after graduating.
The folder grew when I began applying for administrative positions and even more when I applied for a principal position. I was eager to join the administrative ranks, but was rejected in more ways then I could count. I eventually landed a vice principal position at the same school that I taught at. At the young age of 27, I was one of three VP’s in a building of over 2,600 students. Over the course of the next five years, I had served under three principals, and two superintendents. At 30 years old, I was one of the most “seniored” members of the district's administrative team that had 10 schools. To say I learned a few things is an understatement. To help summarize my expertise/requirements per day, a state required mentor (required to gain NJ standard certification) of mine, followed me around one day, and was quick to say “I had done more in one day, than most do in a lifetime on the job.”
Like everyone else, I had a desire to lead my own building. By my third years a VP, I applied to over 40 plus districts in New Jersey. The interviews came and gone, but the results were always the same, “Thank You for Applying,” but we’ve decided to go with someone else. By the end of my forth year, my flash drive was full of saved resumes and cover letters, and the local post office had become a second home to me. The folder continued to grow. I even began calling each superintendent to ask for advice, tips, strengths and weaknesses, to help me grow for the next opportunity.
In all honesty, it was brutal. For those that have gone through this understand the mental, physical, and spiritual pain this process can bring.
Towards the end of the search, I was a finalist at nine districts, and was turned away, because they went with an internal candidate, or several other reasons that someone shouldn’t say to a candidate. I was even told at my district as a VP, that they didn’t and couldn’t see me as a successful Principal.
Talk about a mental beating. I was beginning to feel like a waste. I had developed a few great programs, I was young and eager, and was just looking for someone to give me a chance.
Instead of giving up, I kept looking at that folder and I applied to one more school. 30 minutes after I hit the submit button, I received a phone call from a superintendent. I went in for the interview two days later, which ended up being 3 hours long on a Friday night. Several days later, I was given the opportunity by Dr. Janice Fipp at the Northfield Community Middle School. She could have rejected me, turned me away, and kept looking like all the others. She could have told the board of education perhaps he’s too young. Instead, she gave me something that I will never forget and will always cherish. Then two years later, Dr. Fipp retired, and I had the distinct opportunity to work under Robert Garguilo, who told me at my first meeting, “you run your Middle School the way you want to run it.”
For those that know me, know that over my four years at that school, we went on to win multiple national awards, had changed the educational landscape in the eyes of many, and were even invited to the White House. Yet, the best part of all of this was being blessed to become friends with educational leaders from across the globe, and flown around the world to speak at numerous top conferences. When I join dinner parties after conferences, I often shake my head and ask if it’s all a dream, as it seems too good to be true. These friendships will always be cherished.
After four years, I was beyond privileged to be given the opportunity to become the Superintendent of Tabernacle Township School District, and head back home to where I grew up. Once again, others believed in me, and I refuse to let them and their children down. If you have been following on social media, you know we are in the process of creating an exponential organization to take our district to unimaginable heights.
Like so many of you, the struggle is long, mentally challenging, and hurtful. Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I’m the son of a water well driller. I was the first on my father’s side of the family to receive a Masters degree. I didn’t have a “mommy and daddy” with education connections to get me a leadership job. I was told “no” in more creative ways than most can imagine, but I refused to give up.
You never know when that opportunity will present itself. You will be told many things along your journey, be lied to, betrayed, and will even begin to second guess yourself. Some would even say that your ideas are “dangerous” as they’ve never been done before, or it will disrupt the status quo. Yet, when your opportunity arises, you seize it, run with it, and smile at your “Thank You For Applying” folder.
Every morning brings new potential, but if you dwell on the misfortunes of the day before, you tend to overlook tremendous opportunities. Harvey Mackay

