Retirement is experienced differently by many people. Some dread it, while others welcome it. Retirement marks the end of a journey, but also the beginning of a new journey. This is the case for Business Tech teacher George Powell, for whom although a big chapter of his life is nearing its end, a new one is yet to be written.
Powell graduated from Simi Valley High School in 1973. He went on to join the army and serve in personnel management, which would eventually become human resources.
As he was in the army, he studied at Tacoma Community College for two years. After being in the army for three years, he finished his bachelor’s for Business Administration at Cal Poly, where he then studied to get his master’s in Vocational Administration. “I originally planned on going into administration,” said Powell.
After graduating, he got a job as a store manager at Kmart. He later moved up to Portland, Oregon, where he worked in sales at a local bank renewing CD’s for old retired folk. “Like any other sales position, you had to reach a certain quota,” said Powell. “So it was a lot of stress, a lot of pressure.”
After some time, he worked for the International Business Associates (IBBA). Although he had his real estate license, he didn’t need it to work there as he focused on going concerns. “My specialty was auto body shops and taverns, bars,” said Powell. “And so you go and talk to the owner and ask them if they’re interested in selling their business and then you advertise it, and then you get a buyer to buy it.”
Powell then moved to Sacramento, where he got a job at a traffic school a friend of his owned, Comedy Traffic School. It was helping people learn to drive that helped him discover a new talent and passion, teaching. “That’s when I started liking teaching, because I was up there and it was kind of fun,” he said. “So I did that for a while.”
Before joining Alisal High, he subbed around until he landed a job. “I landed the job at Salinas Adult School. That was kind of fun, teaching adults who really wanted to learn reading and writing and that.”
And then the job at Alisal opened up, and he’s been here ever since. “There was another guy that actually quit. Just out of nowhere. I guess they needed somebody to fill that in,” Powell said. “Back then, though, this was just a keyboarding class. It was a long class. It wasn’t [a] 15 minute class like now, it was like two hour classes, block classes. And it was tough because you were just typing. Basically, keyboarding is typing, for two hours. That was tough for the kids. So I introduced typing games. After, so many said that they got really fast out of the typing games.”
Powell decided this was the year to retire. “30 years. That’s the magic number,” he said. 30 years and you get a bigger retirement bank.” He has planned to be an associate broker with Keller Williams Real Estate.
So at last, after 30 years, this chapter of George Powell’s life comes to an end, one filled with sweet and bittersweet moments as he approaches retirement with a mix of excitement and reflection. “I’m excited for the chance to explore new interests, spend more time with family, and pursue passions I may have set aside during my teaching career,” he said. At the same time, there’s a bittersweet feeling, leaving behind a place and people who have meant so much to me isn’t easy.” “There’s also a sense of responsibility to continue supporting others in different ways, even outside the classroom. Overall, I look forward to this new chapter.”
