GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) — Troy Wilbon, Principal at Southeast Career Pathways, has dedicated his life to helping young people succeed both in and out of the classroom.
Reflecting on his career, Wilbon recalls his early days as Dean at Creston High School, where he first learned the value of truly knowing scholars.
“Being a Dean, you have a lot of interactions with the students, just getting to know who they are,” he said. This approach continued when he became Principal at Creston and later at Harrison Park Academy.
A longtime coach, Wilbon sees parallels between coaching and his work in education.
“As a coach, it’s really about putting people in the right position to be successful. You have to focus on who it is that you’re trying to help and what their end goal is,” he explained.
Wilbon’s work at Southeast Career Pathways focuses on helping scholars find their own way.
“I tell most scholars you don’t have to go to college right away, but if you get your high school diploma, at least you now have options,” he shared. “We all learn differently and when you have multiple scholars coming from all over the city, you really have to understand each individual scholar. I think that's what really helps our success here at Southeast.”
