Marc Williams, English

 

Marc Williams is the Assistant Principal of English, the Library, and the Media Communications Majors. Supervising
40+ teachers, Mr. Williams often reflects on his days when he sat on the other side of the desk as a student of our
beloved Brooklyn Technical High School. "I never imagined at the time that I would return because I am so happy
that I'm back again!"
 

"He has such intense dedication to the students," says Liz Sciabarra, the former Tech teacher and administrator
(now executive director of the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation) who knew him as a student and colleague. "It's because
he was one of them."
 

"Marc understands what it is to be in an environment like Tech," she adds. "He found his niche as a student, and he works with
the kids to find theirs."
 

That niche for late 1980s Technite Marc Williams, riding the A train in from the East New York projects, was drama and performing. Through roles in Hair, The Music Man and The Wizard of Oz, he saw new possibilities emerge. "That," he recalls, "is where I found my joy and love for being in front of a crowd."

 

But when time for college came, he ignored teachers' encouragement to apply to Carnegie Mellon. His mother was a single mom on welfare and unable to read or write. Asking her for a $75 application fee, perhaps followed by out-of-town tuition and leaving her alone for four years, was unthinkable.

 

After those four years yielded an education degree at NYU he was back at Tech, now in front of the classroom. By the end of his first year, he had accepted the demanding position of Coordinator of Student Activities in addition to teaching English. Driven to make a difference not only in the classroom but all across student life, he would hold the post for 15 years until becoming Assistant Principal in 2009.

 

"When I was a student here," he recalls, "I remember thinking one day, 'The great thing about Tech is that you develop in so many ways.'
So now I talk to students about how important it is to be a well-rounded person."

 

"Some of my fondest memories happened here. I don't think I really learned that until after I left. Coming back as a teacher, now knowing how valuable the experience was, I like to let students know it while they are still here. It's all about hindsight. I reignited the passion for Tech I experienced as a student when I came back on faculty."

 

Mr. Williams almost didn't come to Tech though. As a middle schooler, he took the specialized high school exam, but missed the cut-off.
But perseverance and a strong push from his family placed in in a seat to retake the exam. At the same time, he auditioned for the Theater major at LaGuardia. Finding himself on the wait list for the performing arts school and on the offer list of Brooklyn's premiere engineering high school, he decided that he would come to Tech for an academic foundation and join the drama club. Many plays later; many classes in the Graphics Communications major, and many memories later, he returned to Tech to serve as an English teacher, a COSA, the Assistant Principal of Student & Parent Engagement, the AP of Music, the Library, Media, and English. And now he is also the advisor for the new
public speaking club: The Gavel Club. The installation of the club followed his 2014 run to become the World Champion of Public Speaking. Although he fell shy of his goal, he aims to keep competing. It's tough to juggle his aspirations as a speaker, author, family man, and administrator, but it's the challenge of educating and inspiring those in the various "classrooms" in his life that keeps him going. It must be that Tech Spirit in him!