"Call Me Bennet" by Georgiana Mueller

I am a bit apprehensive as I settle into the chair on the opposite side of the desk from our new principal, Bennett Lieberman. After all, I am in the Principal’s office sitting across from the man himself, a place no high school student typically longs to be. However, I am quickly put at ease by Principal Lieberman’s patient mannerisms and welcoming smile. He is trying to make my interview for the school paper a pleasant and fun experience. I relax a bit, take a deep breath, and start in on my long list of questions.

Bennett Lieberman was born in Decatur, Illinois, which at the time was the corn and soybean capital in the world. Bennett married his wife, Kyle Ann Stokes, in 1999. Kyle Ann is a filmmaker, film editor and screenwriter. She has worked on Hollywood feature productions, small documentaries as well as working for the Discovery Channel. Together, they have a son Oskar, who is a freshman at Colby College in Maine. I would be remiss not to mention another important member of their family, a corgi named Captain.

I am curious what enticed the Lieberman family to move to Jackson from New York. I am not surprised to learn that the natural beauty of Jackson and access to so many activities were part of the draw. Principal Lieberman likes to ski, enjoying the bumps as well as the trees. He is also a fan of a quiet snowshoe in the woods. Mr. Lieberman went on to add that he believes Jackson to be a forward thinking, diverse community. Jackson is also a small community where his family could put down roots.

Through our chatting, I discovered that our new Principal played NCAA squash, which is his favorite sport. When I ask what three words best describe his personality, after a moment of faraway reflection, he replies, “direct, persistent, and observant.” By direct, he means honest in communication with people. He chooses persistent because he doesn’t give up, a trait which he learned was necessary in the NYC public school system. Observant translates to he feels good about his ability to understand both sides of an issue and being able to understand how people can be on opposite sides.

When I inquired how he could define his leadership style, he immediately responded with the word “collaborative”. You cannot be successful running an organization if you are always trying to take control and do things individually, he believes. A successful leader needs to build good teams and invest leadership and decision making ability in other people and trust they are going to make good decisions. A leader works together with his teams to run the organization.

I am curious three weeks after the start of schoolwhat Principal Lieberman sees as the biggest challenge currently facing our high school. His response is instantaneous: “vaping.”

In my effort to get a better understanding of our school's new head, I asked If he could have a principal for the day event where students took on his role as principal, what would be their main responsibilities? As his job varies so much day to day, he was not confident exactly what the student’s responsibilities would be. However, he was clear on what his goal would be for their experience. He would hope that they would acquire an appreciation for how many decisions someone in a management position like a principal is making during a day. If he wanted to give someone a true sense of what the job entails, that is what he would want them to walk away with understanding.

Enough of the serious questions. Now I want to get down to the fun stuff.

Chocolate or Vanilla milkshake? Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. But he prefers a malt over a milkshake.

What is your favorite type of pizza? Pepperoni…and he loves making his own pizza.

If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do? Principal Lieberman would run for the United States Senate. He’d love to be in the Senate.

If you were not a principal, what career would you choose? He immediately responded that he’d loved to be a major League baseball umpire. When Principal Lieberman retires, he might go to an Umpiring school. “I love calling balls and strikes”.

If you could return to your high school days and give advice to your teenage self, what would it be? “I would tell myself to choose more positive role models as friends. I didn’t always do that.”

What would your teachers in high school say about you as a student? “He’s such a great kid, I wish he would work harder.”

What was your favorite subject in high school? History. Contemporary American history. He loves the complexities.

What books are you currently reading? He is rereading a 5 book series by Richard Ford. He is currently reading book three, The Lay of the Land.

If you could choose any fictional character as your assistant principal, who would you choose and why? He would choose two. One would be General McArthur and one would be Oprah. He says “You need a little of the military with General McArthur to get things done and then you need the touchy of somebody like Oprah”.

I concluded my interview with positive thoughts about the Principal sitting across from me. For the time being, major league baseball’s loss was Jackson Hole High School’s gain. As I rose to leave the Principal’s office, I casually asked, “What should we call you? Mr. Lieberman? Principal Lieberman?” He just smiled and said, “Call me Bennett”.