Following the announcement of Mr. Manciu’s retirement I was able to interview him about his plans for his retired life and his thoughts about his career.
I started by asking him if he had any favorite memories about his career in education. “I love seeing the wonderful things students accomplish, for me it’s always been about the students.” Mr Manciu went on to say how rewarding it is to be able to help and be in the lives of so many students.
“Do you think you’ll travel now?” I asked him, “Maybe not right away, but we do plan on going to Europe eventually. For now I want to keep myself available to be a sub in the area around here, just in case any school needs a sub principal or assistant principal for a day.” Mr. Manciu wanted to sort of ‘ease in’ to retired life, “but I do love to go camping, maybe we would buy a motor home and go around the country for a little while.”
One of the achievements Mr. Mancui is most proud of is his Distinguished Administrator Award. After working as a barber to help pay for college he began his education career and transitioned to administration and finally retiring after four years as principal here.
On leaving his job after so long he says, “I really did love my time teaching it feels like I’m kind of leaving a big part of my life behind. After so long in the education system it’s sort of a loss of my identity, teaching in general has been a huge part of my life for so long. That’s why I don’t want to stop altogether though, just staying available as a sub.”
