By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
North Central will be starting off this school year with some fresh faces, with one of them being the new Junior / High School Principal Martha Hasselbusch.
An Ohio native, Hasselbusch grew up in Columbus, with her steelworker father, mother, and brother, surrounded by the love that only a busy household can give.
The many wonderful animals that her parents taught Martha compassion for will forever remain an integral part of who she is, with her sharing that she still has a “great compassion and love for all animals.”
This impact is of course felt in her love-filled home today, with Martha sharing that her “family includes my husband, three children, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.”
“In addition,” Martha continued, “I am close to my brother, sister-in-law, two nephews and their wives. Our family also has a dog (Bruno), cat (Gypsy), two macaws, a Russian tortoise, and a bearded dragon.”
Growing up, she was active in 4H and the Cleveland Showagon, which was a volunteer-based public performance with over 50 individual shows at the fairgrounds -where the brother-sister duo served the community through song and tap and acrobat dancing for nearly 20 years.
This bustle was the pride and joy of her parents, who Martha shared she always looked up to. “My parents instilled in both my brother and I the importance of hard work, honesty, perseverance, and doing the right thing. I am who I am today because of my parents and their influence,” she shared.
After graduating from West Tech High School in Cleveland, where she was active in choir, orchestra, and theater, Hasselbusch knew straight away that she wanted to get into musical education.
“After high school,” shared Martha, “I attended Baldwin Wallace College as a music education major. After graduating from BW, I taught music and was the All-City Choir Director for the Cleveland City Schools.”
That wasn’t the end of Martha’s scholastic career by far, and she went on to get her masters, go to law school and get her justice degree, and is still today pursuing her PhD and working on her dissertation.
She added that she is “first and foremost a servant leader.” “I have served in the capacity of principal, supervisor of curriculum & instruction, Regional V.P. of Curriculum & Operations, and Superintendent.”
“I am most passionate about making a difference. As a servant leader,” she added that “it is important for me to make a difference every day for our staff, students, parents, and community members.”
Soon, the Pioneer area will be called home by the Hasselbusch’s, who are “looking forward to meeting, and getting to know, all of our students, parents, and community members,” as well as “looking forward to fostering long term relationships with our school and community members and calling Pioneer home.”