For 27 years, Ira Gurewitz, supervisory paraprofessional, has touched the lives of approximately 20,000 students.

“I have no children of my own, but I’ve had thousands of kids here at HHS,” Gurewitz said.

Gurewitz began working at HHS in the fall of 1987, and has continued to work here for 27 consecutive years, almost half of his life.

“My first day on the job was before the student school year had actually started. All of the teachers and staff had a get together and I was up at 4:30 in the morning pulling canoes out of the lake for teachers to canoe with down the river,” Gurewitz said.

After his first day, Gurewitz immediately began making connections with students.

“I came into this school knowing none of the kids, but they were really good at getting to know me and accepting me. And now, at the end here, I’ve just had some great relationships with students and co-workers,” Gurewitz said.

These connections were not limited to the years that students spent at HHS.

“I ran into this girl, a woman now, who was a student at HHS the first year I worked here. She spotted me and said ‘Ira!’ and it was almost 20 years later. I said, ‘Don’t tell me your name, hold on,’ and she couldn’t believe I remembered her full name. I used to have talks with her all the time in the hall,” Gurewitz said.

In his 27 years, Gurewitz has created many unique memories.

“One time, I busted a student for grand theft auto. [The student] stole a counselor’s car and ATM card, got the password, took the money, and bought gifts for his girlfriend and friends,” Gurewitz said.

Gurewitz has sincerely enjoyed working with the students and staff of HHS.

“Students have taught me how things evolve. The diversity of the students allowed me to learn a little bit about their culture and be accepting of everyone. I’ve learned to accept people and take them for what they are, so it’s really helped my personal growth,” Gurewitz said.

Gurewitz is already planning how he will spend his time as a retiree.

“I’m going on a spring break trip with my friends to the Caribbean. I plan on going to Canada for the women’s World Cup and watching the women’s U.S. team play. I’m also going to Hawaii for a few weeks a year from this Christmas,” Gurewitz said.

As the final bell rings, Gurewitz has a surprise for the students.
“I’m going to put on a shirt that says Retired and then some of the guys asked me to dance with them, so I said sure, I’ll do that. I’ll say all my goodbyes and head out the door to coach,” Gurewitz said.