New man on campus

By
Cougar Staff
 – November 14, 2006Posted in:

Imani Anderson is on the lookout for naughty childrenAlbany High School has taken charge. A new man is roaming the hallways of the school, enforcing the rule that students must carry passes when they are out of class. If you’ve been at Albany High School at all this year, you’ve probably seen him. His name is Imani Anderson and he is the school’s new security guard.

You may know all that already, but here’s something you probably don’t know—Anderson took the job to get away from his old one. He delivered beer for almost ten years, physically straining his body to a point where it wasn’t worth the effort. He didn’t want to be delivering beer at the age of forty, so he jumped at the opportunity of being Albany’s new security guard. This meant a new career with less work and more pay.

Overall, Anderson regards the school as a good one. One thing he is concerned about is that many kids act as though they don’t care about their education. Many seem more focused on iPods and Sidekicks than on learning.

He observes kids cutting classes, but many of them don’t leave campus. Instead, they hang out around the school. Mr. Anderson feels as though kids are trying to look like they don’t care about their education. Anderson hopes to show these kids how important education is. He wants to be able to talk to them about things he has learned in his life.

“Building a relationship with these kids,” Anderson said, “is very important to me.”

Lucky for us, it is relatively easy to find him. If he is not walking down the hallways, he is outside on campus or in the gym. Anderson loves the fact that he looks younger than he is.

“The kids here think I’m in my twenties,” he said. “That makes me easy to approach. Because of that, students feel like they can relate to me more than the other staff members.”

Anderson went through a lot while working at his last job. Delivering beer left him with back problems and little money in his pocket. If you ever want to speak to a young, new staff member who has a lot to offer because of all he has been through in his life, Imani Anderson is your guy.