Outside the Administration: Assistant Principal Dan Sage Talks About His Journey to Advocating Wellness

Dan Sage graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a bachelor’s degree in business and subsequently finished his postgraduate education in business school. He worked at a few corporate jobs before he landed a position that he did not like, prompting him to quit and search for new opportunities. 

“I speak Spanish, and I went to the school district and asked ‘Do you have a job for someone like me? [so that I can do a small job and go look for jobs at other companies in the afternoon],’” said Sage. 

As a result, Sage worked as an instructional aid in classrooms during school hours, and hunted for corporate jobs right after he finished his role as an instructional aid for the day. At his day job, he would go to classrooms, help teachers engage students, and support students with their educational needs. He ended up going back to school to work in education and now works at La Sierra High School as the Assistant Principal over Athletics and Activities. 

“I absolutely loved working with students,” said Sage. “I loved it so much that I was like, wait how do I keep working at a school.”

Sage credits his 2-year stay in the Dominican Republic for his career discovery in the educational field.

“It’s really just because of Spanish that I even found I could work in a school,” said Sage. 

He went on to describe his experience in the country as beautiful and exciting. Aside from his Spanish skills, it was also where he practiced his passion for helping and working with people.

 “I was there as a missionary for my church. The country was poor, but it was just a great experience and I just loved the people and the country,” said Sage, “[It] changed my life.” 

Outside his usual desk work, Sage prioritizes people, making it an important part of his personal and career life. He likes hearing people’s stories and, in fact, remembers small details about them. He also shows his care for people with an advocacy for student well-being and mental health.                 

“I think that my passion is actually working with students individually and helping them improve their lives,” said Sage. 

Hence, Sage wants to improve the conditions of La Sierra High School’s Wellness Center. If handed with a million dollars to use for La Sierra, he would use the money to furnish, fully stock, and make sure that its Wellness Center was open and available for students everyday. 

“I want the students to feel like this is a place they want to get help. They should feel like at La Sierra, there’s a place where somebody’s gonna help,” said Sage.

Outside the administration, Sage cares for the people in his community. He wants to get to know the students, the teachers, and other members of La Sierra High School. Most importantly, he wants to help them by listening and bringing optimism to their lives. 

“I love going around classrooms and seeing what students are doing. I also like sitting down one on one and talking to students. Those are my favorite things,” said Sage.“Every time I am disciplining, I tell them, ‘I’m not gonna talk about your grades, not gonna talk about your attendance, I wanna talk about you.’”