From Board to Classroom
Times’ readers enthusiastically responded to a request for the personal stories of people who changed their lives by changing jobs. Among them was Marvin L. Holm of Culver City, who discovered he prefers the classroom over the boardroom. Look for more fresh-start sagas in Monday’s “Careers” section, and meet “Ivan Hunter,” a fictional Southern Californian who learns from many real-life experts on his journey of self-discovery.
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The inner-city high school students I’ve befriended tell me they are, to use a teenage expression, watching my back. It hasn’t always been that way. I had to watch my own back during my 23 years as a manager in corporate America.
In mid-1993 at Stratolounger, an upholstered furniture manufacturer, I was forced to layoff 92 of the 230 employees I hired to help me grow my division. I was told after I completed this “rightsizing” I would be let go too.
I was living on my six-month severance when a neighbor suggested I take the California Basic Educational Skills Test and substitute teach. In college, I planned to be a teacher, and my degree is in business education, so I jumped at the chance.
After passing the test, I was asked to take a long-term substituting position in Long Beach. I accepted the job on the condition that I would leave if I was offered a corporate management position. To my surprise, I turned down the next management job offered to me to stay in teaching.
Today, I teach typing and business math at Lakewood High, and I’m taking classes to obtain my credential. My doctor says I’ve added 10 years to my life by dropping out of the high-pressure business world.
But I’ve also taken a 75% pay cut and have been forced to make dramatic changes in my lifestyle, such as letting the gardener and pool cleaner go, traveling locally rather than internationally, and driving a car with more than 100,000 miles on it.
It’s worth it. About 300 students went through my classes last year and I impacted their lives. I’m not just giving them information, but contributing to their morals, ethics and values. I’m really teaching them about life.
