As a new year unfolds, students begin to notice new faces throughout the school. One new face, in particular,  can be seen standing in front of the Dean’s Office during passing periods. This is Dean Meghan Bargar, a new faculty member who is brightening the halls of South.

“I came to GBS because the dean’s position here opened up,” Bargar said. “I thought it would be a new challenge, a new start on forming my own identity outside of what I had known my whole life, which was Lake Zurich.”

Lake Zurich was the school Bargar worked at for four years as a dean. She also attended high school there. Dean Ronald Bean explains the impact Bargar will have on the school.

“She has some experiences from her time at Lake Zurich that she’ll bring here to hopefully make us all better,” Bean explained.  “In terms of speaking to the people that knew her before she got here, they had nothing but great things to say about her.”

According to Bargar, part of her job is to make herself visible to the students so that they can see her and get to know her. She is hoping to get to know the students in a positive manner.

“Since she got here, [she] made a huge effort to get to know the adults in the building, to get to know the students by name, to speak to them, and to start to develop those relationships that we all need to develop with the students and the adults that we work with,” Bean said.

Bargar established relationships with many students at her former school, and hopes to do the same at South.

“I walked down the hall, and [I] was able to say hi to 15 out of the 25 kids walking, sometimes 20,” Bargar said. “So I knew a lot of the students. So my personal goal, honestly, is to get to know students and get to know the staff.”

Bean suggests that students make an effort to meet Bargar and  welcome her into South’s community.

“She loves to meet new people,” Bean said. “When you see her in the hall, say hello to her. [It will] give her a chance to get to know you and for her to get to know other people.”

Though Bargar left her position at Lake Zurich, she found a common thread between both schools, along with a change concerning the amount of freedom South students have.

“[…] Students are awesome and so is the staff,” Bargar explained. “[…] The difference would just be the amount of freedom you guys have. […] To me, I think you guys have a lot more opportunities to roam, which is a good thing because it’s still controlled. And you guys behave, so the option is there for you to be able to do that. I just would say that the freedom would be a little different.”

In addition to working as a dean at South, Bargar plans to get involved with athletics by taking on the role of assistant coach  for women’s soccer.

“[…] I think one of the best parts of being involved in sports is just getting to know people and sharing common interests. Just experiencing different personalities that all come together as one for a common purpose, which is to have fun and hopefully come out with a winning record,” Bargar said.

Outside of South, Bargar has a love for country music. She likes hockey, basketball, football and baseball. Furthermore, Bargar played soccer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Being a dean at GBS allows Bargar to pursue the job she loves.

“The best part of it is that you really are able to interact, meet students and help form relationships that you otherwise don’t really form in the classroom,” Bargar said. “I will respect every single student. I know it’s an intimidating office to come into at times, unfortunately. But, I really like working in high school. It’s fun.”

Bargar hopes to accomplish her many goals with South students. She believes it is something that everyone in the building needs to strive for.

“[If] you really want to do something, you can do it,” Bargar explained. “But you’ve got to dream it and go for it. Dream big.”