Mr. Paul Hermes is Appleton North’s new assistant principal, but who is he when he’s not assistant principal?

Hermes enjoys golfing, reading, and travel. He has been married for 13 years to his wife and high school sweetheart Stacie, with two kids: 8-year-old Ellen, and 5-year-old Eddie. Hermes has been golfing since eighth grade, enjoying the time outside. As for reading, his favorite genres are historical nonfiction, and realistic science. But most of all, Hermes enjoys travel, and the benefits that come with it.

To Hermes, everything experienced is a new perspective, an opportunity to learn from others. “When I was a kid, we went on a lot of trips. I’ve been to about forty states, Canada, Mexico, Europe. I think that helped give me perspective,” he said.

“One of my earlier experiences with travel and perspective was when my family went to Tijuana. I was 7 years old, and my parents gave me an allowance to buy something I wanted. As I entered a store that had a puppet I wanted, there were two kids begging. My parents asked me what I wanted to do with my money, and I told them I wanted to give the kids the money.”

These travels and perspectives helped lead Hermes to his original job as a social studies teacher at Appleton East. “I think the turning point that really lead me to history is my wife’s grandfather,” he said. “He was an immigrant from Italy, and whenever we would visit I would listen to his stories. He lived a different life, and hearing his stories made the connection between history and my life.”

Hermes’ goal for the upcoming year is to get to know the people, students, and staff of North. “My job is not to know the name, but know the person behind the name. I can’t teach them if I don’t know them.” He hopes to bring in some of the perspectives he sees into the school community. “It’s all about the community. I want to bring in perspective and help people learn from others.”

“I feel very lucky to work in the most important system in the world. We get to work with the future generations and can help them. If I can play a role in helping, that’s pretty important. What we do is critical for the future of the country. I haven’t worked a day because I love what I do. People say hard work drains you, but this fills me up.”