Bob Walker is a big believer in “things happen for a reason.” So when the principal job at CNE High School opened just a few days after he & his wife had purchased their dream house in the district, he knew this was meant to be. “I grew up right down the street from this district – this is home,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to making CNE my work and personal home.”
Mr. Walker started his career as a science teacher 27 years ago, and he has served as Junior and Senior High School Principal in the Felicity-Franklin and West Clermont school districts since 2011. During that time, he has had the opportunity to be involved in a wide variety of leadership projects with both students and staff members. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and received his Master’s and administrative licensure from Xavier.
While Mr. Walker feels lucky that his job and home have come together this year, CNE is lucky to have him as well: with 13 years’ experience in administration, in both small and large districts, he feels he has always been able to make an impact. He says, “I feel like every place I’ve been, I’ve left it better than I’ve found it. I find myself working on so many things, always keeping in perspective what our true mission is: growing young people into successful and happy adults. That’s the biggest success I could ask for.”
Helping young people succeed is why he loves working in education. “I think in education, you can give back a lot. It’s great to see kids’ success. And since my wife Stephanie is also in education [HS Principal in Goshen], we are able to share ideas – it’s always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of.”
Mr. Walker and his wife have always worked together well, even when they were in the same district. “We both worked in the West Clermont district for a while,” he describes. “She was Amelia High School’s Principal, and I was Principal of Glen Este. We were revered for doing something that had never been done before – we got the two high schools on the same page!”
One of the big reasons Mr. Walker feels they were able to achieve this is because of his attitude: “I’m a very optimistic person; I look at things as opportunities vs. challenges. I try to solve problems. I don’t focus on the ‘challenging’ aspect of something, I just come to work and get things done.”
That “get things done” attitude served him well this summer, as he and Mrs. Walker found themselves living in a camper for over half the summer! “We had to move out of our previous home, but we were not able to close on our new home – so we took a roadtrip to California to visit one of our sons, and then we just made the best of it!” Living in the camper made them both extra-excited to get into the home they think will be their forever home, in their forever community.
The Walkers have four children, plus they have helped a number of children who lived with them over parts of their lives for various reasons. “We call them our bonus children,” he laughs. They also have three grandchildren with a fourth due this month (!). Mr. Walker is very much an outdoorsman and a woodworker. “I make all kinds of things,” he describes. “Most notably, I’ve made a few canoes – and they worked! My sons and I took them to remote wilderness areas in Canada. We backpacked and canoeed from lake to lake where there are no other people for hundreds of miles. We went 7 days without seeing another human.”
Learn more about Mr. Walker in his podcast here.