Whether you know him for his ever-present smile, words of encouragement or magnificent mustache, Fountain Hills High School Assistant Principal Gary Stutzman has left quite a mark on the local campus over the past eight years.

Stutzman began his time at FHHS back in 2006 and, since then, he’s been easy to spot chatting up students on campus, cheering on the teams at local games and, yes, for students who found themselves in a spot of trouble, handling the brunt of disciplinary procedures.

Presented during the 2014 commencement ceremony as “graduating” alongside local seniors, Stutzman will be leaving the nest after nearly a decade of helping shape the minds and moral compasses of Fountain Hills Falcons.

One of the administrative positions discontinued due to budgetary constraints, Stutzman said he is sad to bid farewell to FHHS, but that he thoroughly enjoyed his time here.

Stutzman was “discovered” by former FHHS Principal Patrick Sweeney. Since then, he’s remained at his post through multiple personnel shuffles brought on by continued budget constraints or administrators moving on to other districts/jobs.

“When I first applied out here, they brought me into a room with 11 people for an interview and I told them I wasn’t here for a few years working in administration and then I’d go elsewhere. I said I was here for the long haul,” Stutzman explained.

“It seems that my long haul is finally up, but it’s been great. I’ve met so many wonderful people, including parents, students and my co-workers.”

Stutzman said that he hopes he’s made a positive impact on the FHHS campus, pointing out that disciplinary referrals have gone down over his time at the site.

“I don’t know if that’s because I try to take the time to get to know the kids a bit better or for some other reason,” he said.

“Also, after something happens, I make it a point to check up on them and see how they’re doing. Those relationships have helped me be preventative, rather than just reactionary, and I think that’s helped quite a bit.”

Stutzman said that the town of Fountain Hills never ceases to surprise him. His first night at a fall football game, he said, resulted in numerous parents and community members coming up and introducing themselves, putting a friendly foot forward for the town.

“It’s been a wonderful time. I’m sorry to go and I wasn’t quite ready for this,” Stutzman said.

“But I figure when one door opens, another one is going to open down the road. Apparently I’ve accomplished what I needed to accomplish here and someplace else hopefully needs my services where I can continue to help out kids.”

Oddly enough, Stutzman didn’t begin his career in education. Growing up in Indiana, he eventually went on to work with the forest service in Flagstaff, Ariz.

“That’s around the time I met my wife,” Stutzman said.

“She bought my roommate’s car, and that’s how we met. I opened the door one day and there she was, this girl with these beautiful, sparkly eyes, and a friend of hers.”

They wanted to take the car out for a test drive before making the purchase and the rest, as they say, is 35 years of history.

“I actually worked in engineering for about 18 years after firefighting,” Stutzman continued.

“Then, one day, I came home and told my wife I thought it was time for a change.”

Stutzman said it all began when a co-worker was complaining about the public school system. When he asked the co-worker what they were doing to make things better, it planted the seed for his own future in the field.

“I decided I wanted to do something else, where I could make a difference,” Stutzman said.

“So I started taking classes and, in 1999, I began my student teaching at Horizon High School.”

Working as a substitute and, eventually, a full-time teacher, Stutzman finally had the opportunity to get into administration and eventually made his way into the position of FHHS assistant principal.

As for his secret for success with the students, he said all you have to do is legitimately care about their success.

“Sometimes you really have to think outside of the box and find something that interest them, and then talk to them about it, and show them that you care about something that’s important to them,” he said.

“Then you can share with them how much you care about them succeeding and get them motivated.”

His process works, as it’s no secret that the students of FHHS have a special place in their hearts for Stutzman, and especially his majestic mustache. When asked about it, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I honestly don’t know why the kids like it so much,” he said.

“But probably the ultimate compliment was, one year, Mrs. Truby had her guitar students write songs based on a theme and, this particular year, the theme was my mustache.

“I got to go up there and watch the kids play and listen to those songs. I figured I’d arrived, once I had people writing songs about my mustache.

“I don’t know what it is, but the kids seem to love it. It’s been mentioned at several graduations, and then they asked me to be the speaker at this year’s graduation.”

Looking back, Stutzman said that his years with the forest service and engineering, as well as his years in education, can’t compare to these past eight he’s spent with the students of FHHS.

“They’re a really good bunch,” he said.

“They accepted me as one of their own and we just went from there.”