2008 Woodie Awards
Wrestling his way to the top
Former Eagle pins position of superintendent at Marion Schools
Brandon Williams
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Feature
Nick Hobbs is the superintendent of the Marion Independent School District and a former Kirkwood Eagle.
At age 19, he was nearly drawn into the Vietnam War. While attending Morehead St. University on a wrestling scholarship, his draft number came up. "I think there was a bunch of us watching the draft that night. Some were celebrating and some were disgruntled. I just thought it'd be another adventure," said Hobbs.
However the draft was abolished and Hobbs said he spent some time working in Springfield, Ill. With no idea where he wanted to go, Hobbs got a push toward attending Kirkwood.
"Long story short, I was kind of at loose ends. Cal Jenkins started a wrestling program here. He contacted me about wrestling and an opportunity to further my education, so I took him up on it," he said.
While wrestling for Kirkwood, he was second in the nation twice in NCAA Division III at 142 lbs. While he was hitting the wrestling mat he hit the books and found an interest in psychology. "I took a psychology class with Pat Johnson," he said. "He's just a great teacher. I ended up taking about 12 hours from him." Hobbs said the experience at Kirkwood changed his view on education. " I wasn't really into learning for learning's sake but it turned the whole thing around for me," he said.
After Kirkwood he attended Coe College and graduated in 1976. Following graduation he taught for 13 years in schools in Iowa. He then became the associate principal of Bettendorf High School for six years, the principal at North Scott High School and has been working as the superintendent at Marion for four years so far.
"My job covers so many facets of the educational system," he said when talking about his job. "And there's always something to do. The best and worst part of the job is getting into the office and not knowing what's going to occur."
Although it's been some time since he was a college student, Hobbs said he remembers the life well. "All the classmates I had were pretty much in the same reference. People were trying to figure out what they wanted to do in life," he said.
His message to college students today is simple: "If you haven't found something that stirs your passion, then keep looking until you do."
At age 19, he was nearly drawn into the Vietnam War. While attending Morehead St. University on a wrestling scholarship, his draft number came up. "I think there was a bunch of us watching the draft that night. Some were celebrating and some were disgruntled. I just thought it'd be another adventure," said Hobbs.
However the draft was abolished and Hobbs said he spent some time working in Springfield, Ill. With no idea where he wanted to go, Hobbs got a push toward attending Kirkwood.
"Long story short, I was kind of at loose ends. Cal Jenkins started a wrestling program here. He contacted me about wrestling and an opportunity to further my education, so I took him up on it," he said.
While wrestling for Kirkwood, he was second in the nation twice in NCAA Division III at 142 lbs. While he was hitting the wrestling mat he hit the books and found an interest in psychology. "I took a psychology class with Pat Johnson," he said. "He's just a great teacher. I ended up taking about 12 hours from him." Hobbs said the experience at Kirkwood changed his view on education. " I wasn't really into learning for learning's sake but it turned the whole thing around for me," he said.
After Kirkwood he attended Coe College and graduated in 1976. Following graduation he taught for 13 years in schools in Iowa. He then became the associate principal of Bettendorf High School for six years, the principal at North Scott High School and has been working as the superintendent at Marion for four years so far.
"My job covers so many facets of the educational system," he said when talking about his job. "And there's always something to do. The best and worst part of the job is getting into the office and not knowing what's going to occur."
Although it's been some time since he was a college student, Hobbs said he remembers the life well. "All the classmates I had were pretty much in the same reference. People were trying to figure out what they wanted to do in life," he said.
His message to college students today is simple: "If you haven't found something that stirs your passion, then keep looking until you do."
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