From denying that she would ever be a teacher and changing her major many times, Abigail Cellli is now the school’s new dean.

“A former of teacher of mine told me, ‘just be a teacher, I have always said that is what you would be good at.’ I was like, ‘I don’t have anything else to do, so alright,’” Celli said. “My first day of student teaching I called him in tears and was like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to decide to do this, this is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ I was legitimately obsessed with my job. I still kind of am.”

Receiving her Masters in leadership two and a half years ago, Celli now holds the position of dean for the first time, she said.

“I really like the perspective of [my job], I like that my entire day revolves around problem solving with kids,” Celli said. “Kids come into my office, most often times on their worst day ever. I am able to sit them down and say, ‘hey, yeah this was a bad choice, yeah there are some consequences, but we are going to move forward, it doesn’t make you a bad person, we are just going to look forward and see how we can be better in the future.’ It is really cool.”

While she loves her job, Celli changed her major many times before becoming a teacher. She even lived in Spain for six months to try and “figure things out.”

“It totally made me who I am. I was always kind of a go-getter. I always wanted to be involved in a lot of things, but I think a lot of that came from having a great group of friends who also were involved in a lot of things,” Celli said. “Spain taught me 100 percent how to be independent. It was so eye opening and amazing to have to find my way around the world. It made me the independent and strong-willed person I am today.”

Along with being strong-willed, Celli said she believes having empathy is most important when being a dean.

“I don’t have any problem saying, ‘dude, I totally get why you did that, I might have made the same decision when I was your age.’ I think it helps,” Celli said. “Empathy is one of my most important qualities.”

Fellow dean Matt Aiello who works alongside Celli believes, along with being kind, she is a hardworking individual. While working at the school with the students is something Celli loves, she also supports the students at school events, like the first football game.  

“When you’re new, especially when you are a dean, nobody really likes the deans. Let’s be serious, it is not a job where people say, ‘I bet the new dean is cool,’ so I was anxiously awaiting the first football game where all of the students were in a mass in one place,” Celli said. “The kids were so happy and the school spirit is amazing. It was really a nice realization for me to understand that I walked into a school where kids love it. Kids just love to be here, and that in turn makes me love to be here.”

When Celli is not supporting the students and school, she says she enjoys spending her time outdoors with family.

“I love hiking and camping, I snow and water ski – anything outside,” Celli said. “I really just love hanging out with my husband and my dog, I am pretty simple.  Put me outside on a nice day with my husband and my dog and I am happy as it gets.”