Schools

You Are My Hero: A Tribute to Dr. Plato Karafelis

A letter to 'Dr. K' from former student Zach Graumann (Wolcott Class of 1999). Dr. Karafelis is retiring this year and will be recognized Thursday evening at the West Hartford Education Association dinner.

“Who is your hero?”

Seven years ago, an interviewer asked me that question while we sat at a small table at Barnes and Noble. As a senior at Conard High School applying to college, Duke University (now my alma mater) required me to complete a local alumni interview as part of my application.

Without missing a beat, I replied, “My elementary school principal, Dr. K.”

The dictionary defines “hero” as a person admired for courage or noble qualities.  Personally, I think it’s someone who embodies the skills and values that you want to see in yourself, and teaches you how to develop them.

I write this letter to you, Dr. K., to one, congratulate you on a well-deserved retirement. And two, most importantly, thank you for being my hero, and then some.

Between the ages of 8 and 11, while I was directly learning from and watching you, I developed three abilities that I still carry with me and use today: confidence, the ability to think outside of the box, and leadership.

First, in terms of confidence, you handed me a microphone when I was 8 years old, and told me to speak in front of 300 of my peers.  Every Friday!  Any success I’ve ever had on stage, in presentations or boardrooms today, I owe to you, and the confidence you allowed me to develop in front of a crowd.  I currently work for a bank in New York City, and a few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking to about 30 of our top financial advisors in the city.  After I spoke, someone approached me, “You seem so calm up there!  Have you done public speaking before?”

“Why thank you,” I responded. “Yes, I’ve literally been doing this since I was 8.”

Thank you for that, Dr. K.

Second, I learned to think outside the box by watching you work – you were always looking to push the envelope in new and creative ways. At Wolcott, we didn’t have traditional music class – kids wrote their own songs. We didn’t have school assemblies – we had town meetings where the kids ran the show. We didn’t have student council – we had a fully functioning student government with a legislative, executive and judicial branch. As a result, my brain is currently wired to challenge the status quo, and consistently look for new and innovative ways to approach tradition.  

When I got to college, I was blessed to join one of our nation’s top a cappella groups. The group was fantastic at singing, but a little plain vanilla when I first joined. After putting up with me for a few months, we didn’t just sing anymore – we performed. We included dancing, videos, innovative songs, skits, props – you name it. We thought outside of the box, like I learned when I was young, and we won competitions across the country to prove it.

Thank you for that, Dr. K.

Finally, many argue that leadership is something you can’t teach. I disagree, because I was taught to be a leader by the best leader I know. As a 10-year-old student body president of your school, I learned conflict resolution techniques that I still use today – as you taught me to “always find a win-win situation.” I used your four-box matrix to solve problems as a Public Policy major at Duke, and still today in my career in NYC.

Thank you for that, Dr. K.

I realize it has been many years since I wandered the halls of Wolcott Elementary, but when I heard you were retiring, I wanted to make a point of thanking you for everything you’ve done for me as well as others. You have inspired me to believe in myself, challenge the status quo and lead. These are qualities that many others spend years to learn as adults, and I’ve had them since I was a child in your school.

Four years after my Duke interview, I was able to catch up with the woman who interviewed me.

“What about my interview made me stand out enough to recommend me for Duke?” I asked.

She smiled, without missing a beat. “You were the only candidate who had a true hero.”

Thank you for that, Dr. K.

Sincerely,
Zach Graumann
Wolcott Elementary School Class of 1999


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