Interview with Mr. Conway

The Hampton Herald Staff interviewed Hampton's principal, Mr. Conway.

Mr. Conway Interview

Why kind of qualities should a person have to be principal?
I think they should be kind.  They should have integrity.  I think they should be hardworking, and I think they should be caring, and I think they should have good humor.


What do you like to do outside of school?
First and foremost I like to spend time with my family and my kids.  I love to fish and I love to play golf and I love to watch sports.

What’s your favorite color?
Green. 


What’s your favorite movie?
Saving Private Ryan

What other schools have you worked at?
Owings mills and that was it.  I worked there for 20 years.

If you weren’t a teacher what job would you have?
I would say finance because I would be rich, but that wouldn’t make me happy.  I’d be a police officer.

Do you have any other goals besides being a principal?
Yes, I do.  I would like to be superintendent one day, but you can put being a good dad as my most important job.

Why do you like Hampton?
I love the families and the kids.  I think you guys are really cool and really funny.  I also love the staff.  The staff have been really kind and welcoming.  The staff, the parents, and the kids have all been really great.

What do you think of Hampton?
It’s a welcoming and friendly place.  I think Hampton is a place where people care about each other.

When is your birthday?
March 29, 1980.

Did someone ask you to come here?
The job was open and I was offered it.  I did want to apply, it was my decision.  To have a new experience.  I think it’s helpful in life to have new experiences.
What is your favorite sport?
To play or to watch?  I love soccer.  Playing soccer is my favorite.  Football is my favorite sport to watch.

Did you ever have another job?
Yes, I’ve done lots of jobs.  I was a delivery person, I was a waiter, I was a restaurant manager, I stocked shelves at Gap.  I was a newspaper boy, and I was a dishwasher.  I was also a bus driver for a daycare in the summer.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to be an architect actually.

What is your favorite animal and why?
A dog because I love my two dogs.

How many kids do you have?
Three–two girls and a boy.

What is your favorite food?
Spaghetti and meatballs.  I like chicken with vinegar peppers.  It’s something my wife makes.  I also like any kind of meat.  I like Fogo de Chao.

Why did you leave your old school?
It was time for a change; to try something new.  I want you guys to take risks, right?  So, I think it’s important if I’m going to tell you guys to take risks then I should take risks.

What’s your favorite baseball team?
The Orioles

Do you like online games?
I do, I’m not a big gamer dad, I like poker and other games.

Do you have any siblings?
I do–one brother and a brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

What do you like to do?
We like to visit museums, we like to visit different states.  We love to go to National Parks.  That’s out favorite thing.  For as much as my life loves National Parks, she won’t go camping.
 
(Ms. Patek said she agreed with Mr. Conway’s wife).

How long have you been teaching?
This is my 21st year in education.  Once your a teacher, you’re always a teacher.

Is it hard being a principal?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no.  I think any job can be hard, but it’s about persevering. 

What is your favorite place to go?
My favorite place of all time is the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

Do you like the teachers here?
I do, very much.  You’re teachers are very nice.

Where have you been on vacation?
Different places.  So, we like to go places around the world.  We went to Europe last summer, been to the Islands, and we’ve been to different states.  I like to travel.

What is your favorite subject?
My favorite subject is math because it is challenging but over math is history. I love reading history and learning about the past.

What is your favorite book?
Freakonomics.  A kid’s book is Great Expectations.  A picture book is “Oh the Places You’ll Go” and I also like The Giving Tree.  The tree is kind.  I want you guys to be like the tree…to a certain degree.  I want you to be kind, but I don’t want you to be taken advantage of.

What pets do you have?  What are their names?
My two dogs are Duke and Duchess.

Do your kids play sports?
My daughter plays soccer and basketball, my son wrestles and plays baseball, and my oldest daughter plays field hockey and runs track.

Can you do the moonwalk?
Not good, but at least I tried, but I was voted best dancer in high school.

Do you have other pets?
Yes, I have a cat along with my 2 dogs.

Do you have a favorite singer?
The Lumineers.

What is your favorite type of music?
I like everything.  I don’t have a favorite. If I like a song, I like a song.  I do like acoustic music.

What is your favorite thing to draw?
I would say like landscape type drawing.  My dad did the painting in my office.

Why did you start the ambassadors program?
Because I think it is important to recognize students not just for grades.  Recognizing people for being good people is important too.

What is your favorite song?
At last by Etta James.

What is your favorite season?
Fall.  I like when you can wear a hoodie but not a jacket.

What is your favorite dessert?
Ice cream.

What sports did you play growing up?
I played soccer.  I was an all-state soccer player.  I went to college to play soccer.  I played basketball, but I was really bad at it.  I pitched in baseball.  I was really good at wrestling until I got hurt.  I played tennis.  I played football, but I was too small.

What is your favorite restaurant?
Fogo de Chao.

What do you want for Christmas
A day of peace and quiet.  I want all my kids to try their hardest and to do their best.

What school did you go to?
I went to Scranton High School.  It’s in Scranton Pennsylvania.

What was your best test score?
One hundred percent.  If you study hard, you can get 100s.   If I can do it, all of you can do it.  I guarantee you most of you are smarter than me.  If you want to be successful in life…you’re going to have lots of smart people.  It’s the person who works the hardest and wants it the most that will be the most successful.

What college did you go to?
 I went to Bloomsburg and then to Towson University.

Where have you lived?
I live in Reisterstown, Owings Mills, Cockeysville, White Marsh, Scranton, and Bloomsburg.

What is your favorite store?
Dicks Sporting Goods 

Who was your favorite teacher?
Mr. Connerton because he didn’t give homework. He didn’t believe in homework 

Do you like Michael Jackson?
Yes, I like him.

Why did you start music on fridays?
Because it is good to interact with the students