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Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Principal Michael Thorsen talks with student Nathaniel Philp during the lunch shift. (By Yvette May/Staff Photographer / January 26, 2013) |
Michael Thorsen slapped high-fives with some dance students as they returned from a performance last Wednesday afternoon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.
Earlier in the day, he chatted with students excited about the announcement for the cast of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” this year’s major production for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts.
This June, Thorsen will stand before the arts school’s fourth graduating class, the first with students who have attended the downtown Hagerstown arts school all four years of their high school career.
It will be the last Ingram graduation that Thorsen will attend as the school’s principal. He is retiring this summer after more than 40 years as an educator.
It is time to pass the torch, Thorsen said Tuesday while sitting in his office at the school.
“My family has sacrificed many, many hours of seeing me because of my career and I want to spend much more time with them,” he said.
Thorsen said what he will miss most is the arts school’s atmosphere.
“It’s just ... something special that you can’t duplicate in any other school,” he said.
Thorsen, 65, was hired in August 2008 to be the first principal for Washington County Public Schools’ first arts school, which opened in August 2009.
“Right from the start, we knew he was the right pick for the school,” said Rob Hovermale, the school system’s supervisor of visual and performing arts.
Thorsen had the right background and approach, Hovermale said.
“He approached things from a whole different angle than most principals would. Everything he approached, he approached creatively,” Hovermale said.
Thorsen’s passion for developing an arts school was evident immediately, said Cynthia Perini, immediate past president of the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation.
“Most people don’t really fully appreciate what it takes to get a new school up and running, especially one that is one of a kind,” Perini said.
Thorsen’s experience was a great asset, she said.
“Michael has the unique ability to have both the creative side, and some of the management and organizational skills that it takes to pull all that together,” Perini said.
Rob Smetzer, whose son, Ryan, is a senior and was one of the school’s original freshmen, called Thorsen “a gem, a gold nugget that was brought into the community.”
Thorsen knew what it took to run an arts school and was straightforward with parents, said Smetzer, who served as the first president of the school’s parent guild.
He told parents that their children would have to put in a lot of time and hard work, Smetzer said.
Earlier in the day, he chatted with students excited about the announcement for the cast of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” this year’s major production for the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts.
This June, Thorsen will stand before the arts school’s fourth graduating class, the first with students who have attended the downtown Hagerstown arts school all four years of their high school career.
It will be the last Ingram graduation that Thorsen will attend as the school’s principal. He is retiring this summer after more than 40 years as an educator.
It is time to pass the torch, Thorsen said Tuesday while sitting in his office at the school.
“My family has sacrificed many, many hours of seeing me because of my career and I want to spend much more time with them,” he said.
Thorsen said what he will miss most is the arts school’s atmosphere.
“It’s just ... something special that you can’t duplicate in any other school,” he said.
Thorsen, 65, was hired in August 2008 to be the first principal for Washington County Public Schools’ first arts school, which opened in August 2009.
“Right from the start, we knew he was the right pick for the school,” said Rob Hovermale, the school system’s supervisor of visual and performing arts.
Thorsen had the right background and approach, Hovermale said.
“He approached things from a whole different angle than most principals would. Everything he approached, he approached creatively,” Hovermale said.
Thorsen’s passion for developing an arts school was evident immediately, said Cynthia Perini, immediate past president of the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation.
“Most people don’t really fully appreciate what it takes to get a new school up and running, especially one that is one of a kind,” Perini said.
Thorsen’s experience was a great asset, she said.
“Michael has the unique ability to have both the creative side, and some of the management and organizational skills that it takes to pull all that together,” Perini said.
Rob Smetzer, whose son, Ryan, is a senior and was one of the school’s original freshmen, called Thorsen “a gem, a gold nugget that was brought into the community.”
Thorsen knew what it took to run an arts school and was straightforward with parents, said Smetzer, who served as the first president of the school’s parent guild.
He told parents that their children would have to put in a lot of time and hard work, Smetzer said.
