“He was a lot more passionate and caring than my other principles,” said Ryder Banks, criminal justice.
“He was always supporting (students) by being at concerts and other activities,” said Sophia McLeod, horticulture.
“He always had a smile on his face,” said Sam Northness, education.
These Kirkwood Community College students, all Cedar Rapids Washington High School alums, give praise to their former principal, Ian LeMaster, who is now a program developer at Kirkwood.
LeMaster graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2008, where he studied secondary education with a focus on social studies. However, upon graduation, there were not many teaching jobs available due to the 2008 financial crisis.
“I think I had $40 in my bank account and had to find a different job,” said LeMaster.
He then spent time at a customer service sales job for a company in Des Moines. After four years, LeMaster said he asked himself: “Do I want to take this route forever, or do I want to start looking into education again?”
He later got a teaching job at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, where he began to climb the ranks as a leader. After six years at Jefferson, he became associate principal at Washington High School, and after three years, he took over as principal.
“Any chance you get to impact things positively, that’s what you’re looking for,” LeMaster remarked. “When you become a principal, you get to see it on a larger scale.”
“He always found a way to turn situations into teachable moments and challenged you to grow,” said Cymone Green, engagement and success coach at Kirkwood, who was the principal secretary under LeMaster while he was at Washington High School.
There was a five-month stretch where LeMaster faced loss, prompting reflection.
“When you go through loss, you start really reflecting on life,” he said. “A lot of those regrets were not spending time with family.”
LeMaster reflected he was working at home one Saturday and his daughter asked him to play. He told her he couldn’t because he was busy. His daughter replied, “You’re always working. You don’t have enough time to play.”
LeMaster added, “And that Monday I went in and told my admin team that I was stepping down.”
At the beginning of the fall semester, he started as a program developer at Kirkwood in the Continuing Education department, working with adult learners and businesses.
“I still get to have an impact on the community,” LeMaster said.
“He pushed me to be better,” Green said. “Good leaders are expected, but you don’t realize how rare great ones are until you experience one.”
Categories: Feature
