A big, hearty congratulations to Mr. John Finn for his retirement this year! Mr. Finn is an Arcadia High School (AHS) assistant principal, and he has worked really hard for the past 19 years at AHS. We wish him the best of luck for the future and where he goes from here.

Mr. Finn talked about how much the school has changed since he first started here and the differences he has noticed throughout the years. 

“Arcadia High School physically has changed drastically since I started here,” said Mr. Finn. “It used to have a much smaller administration building, and all of the classrooms have been updated as well, as there have been some new buildings built, including the administration, Science Building, Performing Arts Center, and athletic facilities. Other than that, obviously the use of technology has gotten far stronger every year.”  

Despite all the changes to the campus and the growing use of technology, he noticed that a lot of the students haven’t changed much. 

He shared, “Students to me are students, and there’s certain things that they go through. Obviously, the hardest that it’s probably been has been the years that we dealt with in the pandemic. But I think overall, through my many years of education, I don’t think students are that much different. I think they’ve adapted to technology and communication and how that all works.” 

Mr. Finn talked about what it was like when he first started at AHS. 

“Good environment; much more crowded because we were smaller, and the building we had for administration was much smaller. I mean other than that, I’ve enjoyed my 19 years here.”

Mr. Finn has made a lot of plans to enjoy, have fun, and see a lot more of the world after he retires from AHS, and he is very excited about it. 

“I travel quite a bit, and I’m going to continue with that. I’ve already had two trips planned: one is to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and I’ll go back to the Amazon, which I’ve been to two different times. I’m going to go to Bali in Asia, so those are the first two, and then we’ll go from there. I travel a lot for sporting events like the World Cup and Olympics,” he said.

When asked what his favorite moment was, he said, “There’ve been a lot of good moments. I enjoy working with students and especially when I can help a student that has some struggles to be successful and graduate. I think those are the highlights of the work.” 

Mr. Finn has done an amazing job at AHS and will continue to do so after his retirement. 

Mr. Finn joked, ”I’ve enjoyed all my work in education, and I’m afraid one morning I’m going to wake up and drive to work and realize I’m not working here anymore.” 

Mr. Finn is definitely going to continue to find opportunities to help out as he said, “I do plan on working part-time in something, and maybe volunteering to do a few things here if they need me.”

Something that people may not know about Mr. Finn is that he used to run security at the Greek Theater, and he did security for music groups for around 11 years, while also teaching and coaching. He was a high school football coach and a varsity basketball coach, and he currently referees for basketball and softball at high schools. 

Thank you, Mr. Finn, for the years of hard work and dedication you have given to AHS. You have made an impact on the school and everyone in it, and we wish you the best for your future endeavors! 

Photos courtesy of AHS Yearbook