Evan A. Robb ’89, ’92 chose Shenandoah University because he wanted to attend a smaller school where he could get to know his teachers and enjoy the small class sizes.
“Shenandoah is a university committed to excellence in education,” said Robb. “This is a university where you can learn the skills you need for your career path. Shenandoah has and continues to have a great reputation in our local area and across the country.”
Some of Robb’s fondest memories of Shenandoah are meeting new people, class discussions, watching performances and gaining confidence in himself as a learner.
Robb works for Clarke County Public Schools as the principal of Johnson-Williams Middle School in Berryville, Virginia. In his position, he works with a team of dynamic educators who provide engaging, creative and innovative learning experiences for the students. Robb’s most rewarding experience as an educator is to see the growth of the students and the professionals on his team.
He has received the Horace Mann Educator of the Year Award and was the recipient of The Teacher and The Admin Kids First Educator Award in 2019. In addition, the National Council of Teachers of English Commission on Reading selected him to serve on its board.
Robb believes that Shenandoah prepared him for his career by teaching him how to become a reflective practitioner. “I had exceptional teachers who were committed to my success,” said Robb.
Outside of school, he enjoys writing and has three published books – “The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook: Practices, Tools, and Strategies for Building a Thriving School Community,” “The Ten-Minute Principal: Free Up Your Time to Focus on Leadership” and “TeamMakers: Positively Impacting the Lives of Children through District-Wide Dreaming, Collaborating, and Change.” He also has several publications on EDU, the official education blog of Scholastic, including “Help Your Teachers Create 21st Century Classrooms.” Scholastic named Robb one of the top ten educators to follow on Twitter.
Robb also recently gave a TEDx Talk called, “Two Ways to Get Into a Swimming Pool.” During his TEDx Talk, he encourages people to be more daring and invites people to reflect on their past and the past he shares with them to recall moments of daring and how to recapture those feelings and transfer them to new situations.
Robb’s advice to students is: “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you.”