Anthropology Teacher Gary Scholl has been teaching at John Carroll for 49 years.

He has always been a teacher, but what some current students don’t know is that he has served other positions as well such as the Dean of Students, wrestling coach, and the principal.
In regard to having served so many positions, Mr. Scholl responded, “I have enjoyed each one of them.”

“I can say the Dean of Students is the hardest job to have in the building because if you’re doing your job right and you’re making decisions about maintaining order and keeping a positive tone in the school while disciplining kids when necessary, not everyone is going to be happy. You have to take into account teachers, students, parents, and the handbook, and if you make a good decision, you are going to annoy some people.”

Mr. Scholl has been able to experience many unique things while working in a school for so long.
“My most memorable experience so far, has to be when we were climbing Mount Marcy, the highest peak in the Adirondacks, and it was a muggy damp day, and black flies were bugging us until we reached the tree line where the elevation is so high that trees can no longer grow there.”

He continued, “It was raining so hard that it was stinging our legs, so we tried to climb back to the shelter. I remember one student had a cheap plastic poncho on that was getting shredded by the wind, and he just stopped climbing. I asked him why he stopped until I realized he was wearing glasses that had been completely destroyed by the wind. I took his hand and we climbed back to the shelter together. I will never forget that experience.”

Mr. Scholl mentioned that he has taken many students on backpacking trips during his early stages of working at John Carroll.

He then went on to discuss how he discovered John Carroll.

“John Carroll did not exist when I was a high school student. I graduated from Bel Air, however.

My wrestling coach became the principal of John Carroll when I came back from college and two years on the Cheyenne reservation. My former coach told me they were looking for a wrestling coach and a social studies teacher, and he hired me.”

Mr. Scholl was the very first wrestling coach at John Carroll, and one of the first social studies teachers.

In regard to the individuals who have made the biggest impact on him, Mr. Scholl cited his former wrestling coach in addition to a principal who served 17 years, the longest any principal had served at John Carroll.

“My wrestling coach, whom I loved so much inspired me to want to continue the career path he had previously done. The principal had taught me in middle school and coached me in high school, and he was a good man who was hardworking, disciplined, and fair all while keeping the student’s best interest.”

Mr. Scholl’s time spent at John Carroll is impressive. He is an inspiring individual who continues to prove his endearment toward JC as time progresses.