Gene Eller from the Boys and Girls Homes Class of 1966 received the Distinguished Alumni Award during our Alumni Reunion on April 5. No better tribute could be given than the one he wrote chronicling his travels and his 40 years in teaching in international schools around the globe. Congratulations, Gene!
Please read about Gene's life here.
From Gene Eller:
"I knew in the fourth grade that I was going to travel. I have always been a reader, but that fourth grade social studies book introduced me to a different world that was exciting and full of wonder- beckoning my call. My senior year at Boys’ Home and Hallsboro High School paralleled that same “esprit du jour” and would be instrumental in beginning the transformation of my dreams into reality. I had always loved school, and tests taken at Saint Andrews College my senior year confirmed teaching as my top career choice. After finishing high school, completing military service in Vietnam, and graduating from Appalachian State University, I was ready to begin a 40-year teaching career that had only previously existed in my 'wildest dreams.' Intuitively, I know that without the guidance and support from the McCrays and the staff at Boys’ Home, my life might have been a different story with dreams unfulfilled. Brother Gary Faircloth asked me to share some of the accomplishments and experiences of my teaching career that became a childhood dream fulfilled. A cataloging of these include:
- Taught all classes in Extended Day Alternative High School education in North Carolina for four years before accepting teaching positions abroad
- Taught General, Honors, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate English and history courses at Department of Defense and Embassy Schools in Italy and Germany where my students came from over forty countries and would later attend American Service Academies and major colleges and universities in American and around the world
- Attended numerous Advanced Placement classes in America and Germany, and International Baccalaureate classes in Germany, Belgium, and Poland while teaching full-time and completing a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction
- Accompanied on the piano high school Advanced Band and Advanced Chorus concerts and performances in Germany and Italy
- Lived in unusual places including on the side of an active volcano, beside the Rhine River and alongside the Ionian Sea, atop a mountain in the Bavarian Alps, beside the German Siegfried Line, and in the middle of a wine vineyard
- Coached and sponsored high school wrestling, soccer, National Honor Society and Junior Honor Society, Chess Club, and Freshman, Junior and Senior Classes
- Planned and supervised more school proms and dances than I care to remember
- Recognized and honored for contributions made to America’s youth and acknowledged for excellence as a distinguished educator in Who’s Who Among America’s teachers
- Presented a registered Omani Dagger- valued by all Omanis- by the Omani ambassador for excellence in teaching
- Cruised the Greek Isles and the Nile River, followed Ulysses’ travels in The Odyssey, walked across the Bridge Over the River Kwai, and rode The Orient Express and The Trans-Siberian Railway
- Honored to attend numerous Embassy and Diplomatic functions to include introduction to a South African Nobel Prize winner in Literature and dinner companion to the Chinese ambassador at the Nepali Ambassador’s house
- Paid tribute at American National Cemeteries on four continents and proud to be a two-tour Vietnam Veteran
Dreams do come true! I am a firm believer in the Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” My dream began in the fourth grade, but the actual first step began during my time at Lake Waccamaw. Although our paths have diverged, I will always fondly remember the Hallsboro High School Class of 1966, my time at Lake Waccamaw, and the 12 Boys’ Home boys who began that journey with me."
