Dr. Rudiak served the district in many roles throughout her years such as: teacher, supervisor, and assistant superintendent to name just a few. It was as assistant superintendent that she began to impact my life in so many ways. After being a principal in some of the roughest schools in the city, I felt I didn’t have too much more to learn; boy was I wrong. For the last seven years she helped to transform and mold me into much more than a building manager. She pushed and challenged me to become the educational leader in my building. She had the knack of being able to take your strengths and fuse them with your areas of growth to make you a better leader. She used laughter and humility in such a way that you didn’t feel threatened, but you knew exactly what she was saying underneath that chuckle with the raised eyebrows. Through her foresight she knew who would be good working pairs so that both parties would gain from the experience and collaboration. She was always asking questions. At first I thought she just asked because she wasn’t sure about the answer. After spending time with her I found that her questions were meant to further my knowledge, to push my thinking, and to challenge the known with the unknown.
But it was Barbara that saw something inside of me that I didn’t even know existed. Three years ago she nominated me for the National Distinguished Principal’s Award; an award that she won fifteen years prior. It was at this point that I actually started to believe in myself. This was my tipping point. I finished as the runner-up, but the experience was incredible. Even more impressive was how she was able to cultivate a building manager into an educational leader. She saw, recognized, and celebrated the eternal flame that burned inside of me long before I did. She helped blaze my continuing educational path and is the one responsible for fueling my desire to not to settle for just the principalship.
There is no doubt without her mentorship, friendship, guidance, and tutelage that I would not be pursuing the SLE. I only hope that once I graduate and become a superintendent I can return the gratitude and respect that she so rightfully deserves.
Who is your inspirational leader?
