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Mr. Toefl, a former student and current principal at Torrey Pines High School, shares his career path and experiences. He started as a student, then became an assistant principal and eventually the principal. He considered other careers like screenwriting but chose education. Outside of school, he plays drums in a band, enjoys golfing, traveling, and writing. The best part of his job is graduation day, but the most challenging part is managing new technologies. The transition from middle school to high school is a big change, but academically it's similar. Soft skills are emphasized, and there are many extracurriculars and clubs available at Torrey Pines, including robotics and science clubs. Pineapples on pizza are a no for Mr. Toefl. Have you met an alumni who is leaving their own school? We are pleased to welcome you all to TOEFL, the Principal Education Program. In this podcast, Mr. Toefl will share his career path and his experiences. I have my co-host, Rikki Spears. Hi everyone! I'm Rikki, a fellow 8th grader in PTMS and co-host of the podcast club. I am a Science Club founder and a student standout of PTMS as a 7th grader. Nice to meet you, Mr. Toefl! Mr. Toefl, from the Torrey Pines High School website, we gather that you have been associated with Torrey Pines for a while, starting as a high school student, then becoming a principal. Would you like to give us a rundown of your career? I started as a high school student. I graduated from high school. I graduated from high school. I graduated from high school. I graduated from high school. I graduated from high school. I graduated from high school. That's pretty cool. So after that, what made you decide to become a principal after school you went to? I mean, that is so sick! It was, uh, you're right, it was very sick. Um, it was just sort of luck. To be honest, I was working in another school district and, um, I had, when I originally applied to be an assistant principal at Torrey, it just happened to be the job that was open. And so I applied and got it. And then when I came back as principal, I had experience on the site. So, uh, but I can tell you it's pretty strange to be a principal of a school you went to. It's a very unusual experience. Very interesting. Did you ever consider any other careers? I've considered many other careers. I wanted to be a screenwriter for a long time. I wrote several screenplays. I considered being a film editor and cinematographer for a little while. But, uh, the film industry is a really tricky business. And, uh, I had some amazing teachers growing up. And I really wanted to fill the gap as I watched them move higher. And I loved education, so I went and got my principal and my master's and decided to go into teaching. Um, but I still dabble in writing. And I've got a podcast of my own. Moving on to your hobbies, what do you like to do outside of the classroom next? Well, I'm a musician. I play drums in a local cover band. So I've got some buddies I play music with, which is great. I had a band for a long time also in college. And so it's fun to do that again. I play a little golf with my family. I like to travel very much. And I'm a big reader. And I'm writing books. What is the best part of your job? The best part of my job is probably graduation day. I, uh, I love graduation day. I love seeing the smiles on all the kids' faces. Uh, it's just a really, really special day to see those four years and really the 12 or 13 years of education that they've gone through. Uh, and the public, uh, the world come to an end. And it's just that incredible celebration and satisfaction of graduation. What would you consider to be the most challenging year of all? The most challenging year or the most challenging thing? The most challenging thing. The most challenging thing in my job? The most challenging thing in my job is probably all of the, uh, the many new things the world likes to throw at us. Like cell phones and social media and, um, e-bikes. And all of these things that we didn't create, we didn't ask for, but schools are being asked to figure out how to manage, uh, with our students. So I, if we could focus on education, it would be a heck of a lot easier. But the world likes to keep throwing at me technology and we have to figure out how to help our kids understand it. Our next question is perhaps at the back of every middle schooler's mind. What would be expected to transition to high school to be like? I mean, academically, socially, and anything else you want to share. Yeah, that transition from middle school to high school is one of the biggest transitions a student will go through in their academic career. Uh, it's a very, very different world from high school. At middle school, you've got two years, so the age difference isn't as big. At high school, there's a four-year difference. So you go from being a 14-year-old walking on campus with your lunchbox and you get, you know, passed by a guy who's an 18-year-old adult with a full beard who just got off his night shift. So it's a, it's a different world when you get to high school for sure. Um, but it's a great transition. It's really exciting. Academically, I think it's pretty similar, especially in ninth grade. We, uh, we focus on making sure our ninth graders have a, a soft landing when they get to high school. Um, you've already been experienced with going to multiple teachers and multiple classes, so that won't, that probably won't be new. Uh, the rigor, uh, is something you see here too. It's just, you know, a little grade level advancement. But then you've got more opportunities for high school because, especially Tori and, and T.J. here, uh, locally, you've got a wide range of classes to choose from. So it's, it's great because you really get to expand, try things, and experiment a little bit and really find out who you are. As far as preparing students for college goes, is there any enhanced emphasis on soft skills? For example, management, leadership, communication skills, and emotional intelligence? That's a great question. We focus a lot of times on what we'll, some call soft skills. Uh, we'll call it, uh, professional skills or even transferable skills. So they're all things we use as part of our curriculum. ...and make phone calls and, and, uh, write a resume and do all those things that help keep you out there in the world connecting with people. And we're fortunate to have, uh, eight different teaching pathways that we'll get back within the classes. All of our teachers are focused on building teamwork and friendship. So we really try to get those skills, uh, through the, through the robotics work that we're able to do. Not just for the next eight years or so, but for the next three years or so. What are some extracurriculars or fun programs available at Torrey Pines? I'm interested in science and robotics, and I would love to learn more about it in high school. Well, if you're interested in robotics, we have the Millennium Falcon, which is a great robotics program. It's very competitive. Uh, a bunch of dedicated students there working really, really hard, and we've had great success. Um, we've got Science Olympiad, and we've got a lot of science clubs. Um, and as you probably know, we've got 28 varsity teams, very successful athletics. We've got 150 different clubs, uh, for you to, uh, be a part of. We've got PALS and AFC. Uh, we really, if there's something you're interested in, Torrey Pines has it. That's super cool! What are some clubs available at Torrey Pines out of the 150 clubs? Oh gosh, uh, let's see. Uh, the clubs, uh, we've got math clubs, we've got science clubs, we've got, um, things like, uh, Torrey Pines Players, our drama club, our music program. Um, we've got a sailing club, which I find amazing. Uh, I don't know where they sail, but I guess they're in San Diego, so it works out. But sometimes they bring their boats clubbed up, it's pretty funny. Um, we've got a barbecue club. We've got an auto tech club. Uh, and what's nice about Torrey is that if there isn't the club that you want, you can start your own club. I would love to start a chicken nuggets club. Oh, I mean fried rice. Crunchy! Lastly, a million dollar question. Do you put pineapples on your pizza? No, that's illegal in my house. Now, that's not true. My wife loves that, and my son loves it, but it's terrible. It shouldn't be done. Oh my! You damaged my heart! I'm sorry. Heartbroken! Well, thank you, Mr. Popol, for joining us today. It was a pleasure to get to know you. Thank you, everyone, for listening to our first episode of the Torrey Pines podcast. It was a pleasure to get to know you. Thank you, everyone, for listening to our first podcast of the year, and thank you to the members of the podcast club who worked on the script. Also, stay tuned for more podcasts from our club. If you want to develop personal and professional skills, like marketing, speaking, leadership, editing, and scripting, join our club! Thank you so much for listening! Bye bye!