A Leader to Look Up to.

Brianna Osness

Kearns- Leaders are heroes with a greater burden on their shoulders, at Kearns High School there is one woman who embodies both the ideals and the mindset of what a leader and a hero should be.

Ms. Loo, the principle here at Kearns high was voted a hero by the student body. On countless surveys students state how she is approachable, down to earth, and hardworking, and has the good of the student body in mind.

In an interview with the Cougar Claw, Ms. Loo expresses how helping students is what she considers a top priority. She states, “The hardest thing is to recognize how to help kids, because every student has a certain select package of problems or challenges that they experience. I really think that’s why we are here. I believe that it has to start here with me, at the top. And then hopefully it will transcend to my assistants and to my faculty.” She continues, “It takes a village to support kids in their learning. So, I don’t consider myself a hero, but I do consider the passion and motivation to do my job well.”

The Cougar Claw asked about the motivation behind the hard work, Ms. Loo responded, “I chose to become an educator because I felt like that is where I belong. I felt that I had too many poor role models when I went to high school, and that really concerned me. I thought, ‘man you guys are considering yourself educators, and here I am a junior and senior in high school and I’m not correlating. I’m not seeing that what you are doing is what you love to do.’ And I thought ‘alright I know I can do better than that.’ So, I loved it, but I wasn’t getting what I felt like I needed as a student. I swore right then when I was 18 that if I did do this if I did become an educator, I would do my best not to put kids off.”

It’s safe to say that the job expectations that Ms. Loo has are not easy to fulfill and maintain. But Ms. Loo leaves us with interesting insight about what keeps her working in education. “You know it’s a hard job, but I stay because of the rewards. Even if you make a difference from one to five kids, That’s huge. Because you see a life changing experience happening with a kid that you are working with. I stay for those experiences because I am passionate and committed to what I do. I want kids to have that second chance.” She continues, “If I can change one life, two, maybe more than that, then I’ve done my job.”

Ms. Loo plays a balancing act of managing the stress that being a high school principal brings with the reward of knowing the impact. She states, “I walk a lot, I am not an office principal. So, when things get too heightened and stressful, I go. I take a couple laps around the building and I connect with kids. For me that’s how I balance my day because this job is very stressful, and sometimes. I must remove myself from what I am dealing with here by going out in the hall and engaging with kids. It kind of re-grounds me, re-commits me to what I have to do here.”