It didn’t take long for Eddie Diaz to find work following his decision to not return to St. Patrick’s Catholic School after the previous school year.

This past Wednesday, Diaz began working in his new position as the Director of the DMACC VanKirk Career Academy in Perry. He had spent the past two years as the Principal of St. Pat’s, but declined a new contract, and now he steps into a job that hasn’t been filled on a full-time basis for about a year. Diaz says it’s exciting to work with students in a different capacity, and help them with opportunities they may not be able to get elsewhere. He adds, while this wasn’t a career he necessarily saw himself in, he’s excited for the possibilities.

“Education is a passion of mine. So that’s always been the trajectory that I’ve been on for the last 10 years. Higher education was something that I thought might be an opportunity, but I’d be lying to you if I told you that this was something that I expected. I’m excited about it, and I’m grateful for the opportunity, but it’s definitely not something that I was expecting all along.”

Diaz’s past experience includes serving seven years in the United States Marine Corps, followed by college, six years as a social studies teacher at Perry High School, and two years as the Principal of St. Pat’s. He says he’s humbled to be given a leadership position like this, and is looking forward to serving the community in a new way than before.