Mr. Archibald, would’ve never anticipated his career to be in education, especially English.
When he first started college, he was an art major, but began having second thoughts about his choice. “I started my classes and looked at what I was able to do, and looked at what my fellow classmates were able to do, and I was like, ‘Oh, I am not as dedicated or as hard-working as they are about this,’” said Mr. Archibald.
He had music classes and enjoyed them, but didn’t feel as fulfilled and devoted compared to his peers. So, one of his friends was aware of his struggle and suggested that he take a humanities class to study the arts. When he decided to take it, he immediately fell in love with the class.
Mr. Archibald ended up taking all of the humanities classes that he could take at his junior college and considered himself a humanities major. Then, he went to transfer to a different college.
“I went to transfer, and I looked at the list and was like, ‘well, what are all the things that a humanities major can do?’ Then, I looked down at this big long list and it said: ‘Humanities major with an emphasis in English teaching.’ So, I thought, ‘Huh, that might be kind of fun! I’m good at English, I like English. And when I was in high school, I never ever would’ve thought that I would be a high school teacher. That never would’ve crossed my mind,” said Archibald.
When he started taking his classes, he had great experiences with his professors that he appreciated working with. Due to their influence, it made Mr. Archibald think he would enjoy and perform well in the field of teaching and education.
After he graduated from college, his girlfriend, who is also an English major, moved to Las Vegas and got a job at Green Valley High School. However, Mr. Archibald did not get a job immediately and instead worked for his friend in California. Then, finally, he decided to also move to Vegas and apply for a job.
“I applied, but didn’t get a job. Then, I was working as a substitute teacher and worked as one for a year. I worked at Green Valley for a semester as a long-term substitute with my girlfriend, who became my wife,” said Archibald.
Through some difficulties with the district, Mr. Archibald eventually got called in for an interview at Mojave High School on a Friday, but didn’t end up hiring him. Then, on Monday, he got called in for another interview, which was at Las Vegas Academy. His wife told him, “You would love this school, it’s right up your alley; it’s all about the arts.”
So, he came down to Las Vegas Academy for his interview, and he got the job! He got hired in the middle of the year in October where the end of the first quarter was near.
“I’ve been here for 24 years, so I just got kinda lucky. I’ve loved it, and always wanted to be here ever since,” said Mr. Archibald.
