Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. LaShawn Smith.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr. Smith. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story as an educator began when I was living in South Florida working in the business world. I accepted an invitation from one of my clients to be principal for a day. The opportunity to shadow this gentlemen for the day was very eye opening to the impact this principal made in the lives of young people. In 2002, the opportunity to begin my journey into the world of education was presented to me and coming from a family of educators I accepted this new direction in life without hesitation. My goal as I entered into this new career path was to find the route to leadership to position myself in a role that could one day impact the lives of our youth. My education career in Florida was with all title I schools. In 2006, as a family we decided to relocate to the Atlanta area in Gwinnett County to pursue opportunities in leadership. In 2007, I began working in a middle school in Gwinnet County as a teacher working with young men as youth football coach and participating in the Gwinnett County Public Schools Youth Mentoring Program. Over the next few years, I spent a great deal of my time mentoring young men and managing an NFL athlete. These 2 components would later drive my passion for success and influence my decision to pursue my doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership.
In 2011, I began a rewarding journey into leadership at Meadowcreek High School. The first two years were spent as a community school director before transitioning to an assistant principal who supervised the international school of business. I am extremely proud of this time in my life because we began the transformation of a Title I school with over a 70% Hispanic population into a thriving school with a national presence. My greatest accomplishment was steering the charge of a partnership with a community bank that built a full operating branch in our school building that would give our students and community access to make financial transactions and learn about financial literacy. It was a great accomplishment because in this nation there are only a small portion of schools that provide this service for their community.
In 2015, I was introduced as the Mustangs’ new athletic director and a vision that originated from a love of sports and young athletes reaching their highest potential to prepare them for a journey after high school. I would say it was a meeting I had about 6 years ago with a young gentleman who transformed my career trajectory as a leader. Dr. Tommy T. Welch I consider a mentor and my boss entrusted the pulse of the Meadowcreek community in my hands. In year 3 at Meadowcreek High School, I became the athletic director of a department that had potential, but lacked an identity. Over the last 3 years, our Mustang community along with our coaches and players worked tirelessly to create and revitalize a Mustang brand that caught everyone by surprise, The Mustang brand now embodies a 2017 State Men Soccer Championship – Swim and Dive team that has athletes qualifying for state competition for the first time in over 10 years – Men Basketball has 2 consecutive playoff seasons – Wrestling team had several state qualifiers – 2017 Mustang Football team historic 7 win season and playoff berth all are first in the school’s history. The most important addition to our Mustang brand is “The Mustang Stampede”, our student section that has transformed the culture of our school building with excitement and unwavering support for our teams. It was these great accomplishments, the support of great coaches and players that afforded me the 2017 Region 7-7A Athletic Director of The Year!
Everyone has a dream in life, but it is the people you surround yourself with that helps that dream become a reality. I have been blessed to have some great people in my life throughout my journey and I can honestly say it was the relationships that continued to open the doors of opportunity. This is my daily goal because, the greatest gift that I can give to our students is HOPE!!! Through a solid academic support system, we are exposing our athletes to the opportunity of being a collegiate student-athlete. Today my message to our students is we play with a purpose… that purpose is to learn how to give max EFFORT the TOUGHNESS to endure the adversity they face from their environment and DISCIPLINE to take ownership of their destiny. I believe in the power of collaboration as we continue to reshape the legacy of our athletics program. My focus shifts to sustaining great coaches as leaders and continue my efforts to provide opportunities and exposure for all of my student athletes.
Has it been a smooth road?
My journey in life has been somewhat smooth but I set the bar high for myself to always be a continuous learner and never get complacent with short term wins. My biggest challenge came when I pursued my doctorate degree after just accepting an administration position. I had to focus on time management balancing family, work, and education. Currently, I am seeking a balance between my personal and professional life, obstacles will come and go, it is important that I find time to enjoy life.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am an athletic director at Meadowcreek High School located in Norcross, GA. I specialize in empowering others to be successful. As athletic director, I am most proud of the development of our athletic programs. We have won a boys State Soccer Championship, reached the playoffs in football and basketball and my coaches and players are receiving post season honors. I believe it is my personality that sets me a part from others, I see the greatness in people and I look for ways to empower them to help them realize their greatness.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4455 Steve Reynolds Blvd.
- Website: Meadowcreekhigh.org
- Phone: 770-638-2388
- Email: lashawn_smith@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
- Instagram: docsmith_ad
- Twitter: @meadowcreek_ad
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