Life is trending in a positive direction for Andrew McDaniel.
Chosen in April to become Fairfield’s Assistant Superintendent of Finance, McDaniel was in the midst of a major career change. A new office seat wasn’t the only adaptation he was in the midst of making.
McDaniel had answered his calling to step away from his principal duties at Southwood High School, located just south of Wabash. Leaving his post with just weeks left in the school year was a difficult one, but his transition as Fairfield’s financial figurehead was going to take some time in adjustment and couldn’t wait until the summer.
McDaniel and his new bride, Julie, just had their wedding in Las Vegas days before he accepted the offer from Fairfield superintendent Dr. Carrie Cannon. Starting a new life outside of work may seem like enough, but shifting from his comfort zone as a principal near his home in Huntington to a new school district in Elkhart County without a new homestead yet was a challenge.
“I had to recalibrate my brain, for sure,” McDaniel said. “There were a lot of changes happening in pretty rapid succession.
“I got married but was still living at my house in Huntington on the weekends, getting the house ready to sell. I was lucky to get it sold in a day. Then we had to prep it. And then get Julie’s house sold and prepped while finding one for us to buy. It’s been a lot. And all the while, I have been working on my dissertation and got the go-ahead to schedule my proposal, which is the first segment of that. It’s been one thing after another.”
McDaniel caught the tail end of the Fairfield school year, onboarding and immersing in the district for a few weeks ahead of graduation. Asked to help with the graduation ceremony, McDaniel was able to send off the senior class in what was a bittersweet afternoon.
“I was really thankful to come to Fairfield’s graduation and have a role in that,” said the former Southwood principal, whose MSDWC graduation was also held on June 4. “I wasn’t able to see those kids all the way through, but was happy to have been here to take part in Fairfield’s celebration.”
McDaniel was part of Southwood administration for 11 years, and also spent two years as the dean of students at Columbia City, taught for a year at Oak Hill, and spent a year teaching English as a First Language class in France.
Now with a few months under his belt in greater Benton, McDaniel is starting to find his fit, literally. His morning routine often involves gym time in Ligonier with his wife, and McDaniel typically puts in three miles on the road or treadmill before suiting up for the work day. An avid fitness enthusiast, his charisma is in step, often chiming in first thing through the door with a hello to everyone in the central office. As he works to the coffee, his ‘alright, alright, alright’ isn’t as twangy as Wooderson’s on ‘Dazed and Confused’ but his charm could rival McConaughey’s.
McDaniel has found a home in Ligonier and the picture is becoming clearer. With the construction projects now in full swing on the Fairfield campus, McDaniel is settling in, and looks forward to opening his first full year with FCS.
“Getting here and the timing of the arrival, I didn’t get a lot of time with the students and staff members,” offered McDaniel. “I think once we get back into school, I can get back into the buildings a little more and meet more people.”