BY KATIE GRIFFIN

Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, Wadsworth High School will be admitting an additional principal into the building. This position is going to be taken by Keri Hamsher, who currently works within the Rittman school district.

The position became available following Kirk Kresowaty’s retirement. He is the current attendance clerk and his responsibilities will be rolled into Hamsher’s future job responsibilities.

“Our high school has over 1600 kids, and we have had three administrators since before I was a teacher here. We have considered [hiring an additional principal] for a long time, for a couple of years we’ve had this discussion,” said Mr. Seiber, Wadsworth High School’s Assistant Principal. “We felt the need for it and Dr. Hill agreed so that’s why we were able to get [another principal].”

Hamsher currently undertakes multiple job roles.

“I’m at the middle school and high school, so I’m the middle school principal and the assistant high school principal [at Rittman], and I [also] coach volleyball,” Hamsher said. “Outside of education I’m a realtor, so I sell houses and help people buy houses. My family and I breed dogs, and I also run a JO volleyball club.”

Hamsher considers helping people to be a priority in her life.

“I do love it [all of her jobs], I love helping people,” Hamsher said. “That’s where I find my joy and I think working in education allows me to do that and I think selling houses helps me help people too, and puppies just bring joy to everyone, I mean there’s nothing sad about puppies.”

Hamsher has also brought her passion for helping people to her home life.“I also have horses and do some equine therapy with some special needs students and we’re eventually going to have marriage retreats at our home,” Hamsher said. “I have a passion for people I guess is what I should say to you. So I try to find ways to use the gifts that God has given me to spread joy for other people.”

Hamsher and her family began breeding puppies due to their youngest daughter, Ainsley’s, interest in becoming a veterinarian.

“We breed bernedoodles, hypoallergenic dogs, and we breed Aussie-Doodles,” Hamsher said. “It’s just a lot of fun, I actually brought some of our puppies in for our staff one day for a mental health and wellness day because puppies bring smiles.”

Hamsher has prior experience with her work in the Rittman school district.

“Before all of those things, I was a principal [at Rittman], and I was an athletic director at Wooster High School and at Waynedale High School,” Hamsher said. “I also coached college basketball for a number of years.”

Family is a large part of Hamsher’s life.

“One of my favorite things to do is to listen to my daughter sing and obviously to be involved in my kids’ lives,” Hamsher said. “My three daughters keep me very busy.”

Hamsher grew up in Ohio, attending Ohio schools for high school and part of her college career.

“I actually graduated from Orrville High School,” Hamsher said. “I went to Marshall University where I played volleyball and basketball, and then I got my master’s degree at the Citadel in South Carolina, and then I got my principals license and my superintendent’s license at Ashland University.”

Hamsher hopes for her position at WHS to stick for a while.

“I’ve been in my current position eleven years. I don’t like to jump around. I like to build relationships with people and get to know people. I had a really hard time saying goodbye to my family here at Rittman,” Hamsher said. “It’s really hard when you make changes but sometimes God leads you down paths that you just need to follow. So I like to get somewhere and stay there and really get to know the people that I work with and just invest in their lives.”

Hamsher is looking forward to building relationships with students at WHS and hopefully making a difference in their lives.

“I’m really excited about coming to Wadsworth and just getting to know the students there,” Hamsher said. “Hopefully they’ll know that they can always come and talk to me if they need to and that I will try to help them in the best way that I can, and you know sometimes that’s through correction, sometimes that through encouragement, but it’s always done with compassion.”

Hamsher’s position as a principal at WHS will begin with the 2022-2023 school year.