L.V. Rogers principal Tim Huttemann is embarking on a three-year contract overseas, where he will work as the headmaster of the American College of Izmir in Turkey.
It’s located in an orange grove not far from the Aegean Sea.
“Listening for years to all the grads walk across the stage and talk about all the amazing things they’re going to do — volunteer in Cambodia, travel to Brazil — it made me feel like maybe it was time for my next adventure,” said Huttemann, who served as principal for five years at L.V. Rogers. “I got caught up in the fever.”
Huttemann has something of a jet-setting family, with one daughter doing an exchange in India while the other bounces around places like Frankfurt and Armenia. His wife Denise Currie will continue working in Castlegar next year, so for the first bit he’s going to be all by his lonesome — something he’s looking forward to.
“I have previous history with this country. I love the food, the culture. Really, this is something of a dream come true for me. Because I’m going to be on my own that will give me a chance to focus on the work and the students.”
Huttemann moved to Nelson from Stanley Humphries in Castlegar, and before that he worked at J.L. Crowe in Trail and up in the Yukon. He’s also taught in Prague and Istanbul, but said L.V. Rogers is “easily the best school I’ve ever worked.”
“I absolutely love the kids here. They’re fantastic and by fantastic I don’t mean they’re going to Ivy League schools and getting straight As, it’s that they all have a story to tell. We have interesting talks everywhere I go.”
And the kids have inspired him, both with their accomplishments in class and their global ambitions.
“The world has become a smaller place. When I was young if you heard someone went on an exchange to Quebec you could hardly believe it. Now it’s so much easier to get anywhere, and these kids are taking full advantage of that.”
Huttemann was recently handed the print-out for his job posting, and felt conflicting emotions as he read it over.
“It was like reading my own obituary. This is going to be a great time for someone to come in with the new curriculum, with new energy, but I’m definitely going to miss it.
“Sometimes you get stuck in certain ruts and I think it will be neat to have someone go in and bring in an extra spin on things. I think that will be really good for the school.”
Huttemann chose his parting words carefully.
“People send us kids and trust us with them. They trust us to build them up, and they come with so many skills. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what those skills are, but every year when they graduate it’s always a mix of happy and sad because you’re proud of them and their success, but it’s hard to see them go.”
He said some people have an erroneously negative impression of the current generation coming up through school.
“Anyone who says this generation isn’t going to amount to anything doesn’t know what they’re talking about. These kids are amazing, and they’re going to be fantastic.”
It was announced this week that vice principal Tamara Malloff will be taking over for Huttemann. The Star will be profiling her next week.