Peter Foradas is coming to LT next year as the new Student Activities Director. With a background in social work and a passion for building positive relationships, he looks forward to working with students and staff when school begins in the fall.

“The work I do, whether it’s this year or next year, is always grounded in the individual [student and staff] experience,” Foradas said. “We spend a lot of time in school each day, so making sure that’s a positive experience is really important to me, and the best way to do that is by talking to you all”.

The role of Student Activities Director is an influential one. Their goal is to get students involved in extracurricular activities; they work with sponsors for academic, social, and competitive clubs, coaches for intramural athletics, sponsors for interscholastic clubs, and more. They are also in charge of organizing school events like homecoming, prom, or the All-School Assembly.

But with his background in social work and his expressed interest in LT’s school culture, he is perfect for the role, Director of Human Resources Ed Piotrowski said. 

“Anyone who is going to be successful in these types of roles within schools has to have that passion for working with students, and [Foradas] has a great deal of experience working with students and helping students find what they’re interested in,” Piotrowski said.

Welcoming new faces to LT can be challenging, but his first goal is to talk to as many people as possible, Foradas said.

“I want to hear from [students] first,” Foradas said. “I don’t want to come in feeling like I have all the answers to any problems or ways to make anything better, because I don’t. Every situation is different, every school is different, and any changes I make will be grounded in what I learn from the school.”

The Student Activities Director also works with Student Council, so bringing him new ideas and telling him what worked versus didn’t work in the past will be very helpful, Piotrowski said.

“We see every year where students are proposing different clubs, where they have the different interests that they have, and the [Student Activities Director] is instrumental in that, so I’m excited about [Foradas] continuing that work,” Piotrowski said.

Welcoming Foradas with patience, especially because he’s being met with a whole new community, job, and environment, is also very important, Piotrowski said.

Foradas currently works at Dundee Crown High School as a social worker and serves as a Tier 1 Coach. According to an email sent to LT staff from Principal Jennifer Tyrrell, Foradas is also a part of the School Improvement Team, MTSS Behavior Team, School Mission and Vision Team, and Restorative Practices Team and his current position. 

Foradas will also be attending LT’s prom this year as a way to begin to meet people and get accustomed to LT’s culture.

“I’m looking forward to stepping into that role that has a lot of influence,” Foradas said. “My goal is always to amplify the voices of others rather than to use my own voice. So I think with something that is so important to the building, I look forward to being given that opportunity to amplify voices that matter.”