Who has jumped out of a plane 36 times, taught high school for a decade and a half, and loves horror movies? Mrs. Eileen Rudisill, our new Assistant Principal.
Here’s her story.
Mrs. Rudisill grew up in Los Angeles, California, belonging to a family of heritage Spanish speakers. She explained to me that a heritage Spanish speaker is different from someone whose native language is Spanish—heritage speakers come from the United States (or other non-predominately-Spanish-speaking countries), but Spanish is their first language.
Throughout her young life in California, Mrs. Rudisill turned to swimming as a haven; she even coached the sport herself for a while. “I swam from the time I was six, all through high school,” she told me. “I like to tell myself that I’m part mermaid! So, I feel very very comfortable and happy in the water.” Mrs. Rudisill swam not only to work out and make friends, but also because the water was where she felt most authentic to herself.
When Mrs. Rudisill turned nineteen, some of her friends convinced her to take the ASVAB, a test designed to predict military aptitude. Mrs. Rudisill scored well—she then met with an army recruiter and learned about all the opportunities that the military could offer. During their meeting, Mrs. Rudisill watched a training video depicting paratrooper soldiers completing missions by jumping from airplanes. Her reaction? “Sign me up!”
For the first time in her life, Mrs. Rudisill left the state of California and flew to New Jersey for basic training in the early 90s. She became a legal clerk for the military (and, of course, a paratrooper!).
I just had to ask—was it scary, jumping from planes? Mrs. Rudisill admitted that being a paratrooper was nervewracking, especially after breaking bones from multiple jumps; in her own words, “If you’re not scared, you’re doing something wrong!”
During her time in the military, Mrs. Rudisill met her future husband with whom she had five children. Four of them are currently in the military and two have become paratroopers as well! “I have a son who is actually in airborne school right now and another one who is what is called a jumpmaster,” said Mrs. Rudisill. “That’s the person who’s in charge of pushing the soldiers out of the airplane with their parachutes.”
Mrs. Rudisill left the army in the mid 90s, ready for a change. She took jobs for the Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office, which aligned with her keen interest in restorative justice, the practice of repairing harm and helping criminals make better choices. But she always had another wish in the back of her mind—to become an educator.
“When I was little, I went to Catholic school and I really admired my nun teachers and their dedication, so it was always in my head that I’d really like to teach some day,” Mrs. Rudisill explained. “I had amazing teachers in high school, too, some not so amazing. But the amazing ones are the ones that I remember.”
Using scholarship money from the GI Bill, Mrs. Rudisill returned to school for her bachelor’s degree at the age of 29. She decided to study Spanish Language Education, and once she graduated, Mrs. Rudisill taught Spanish for fourteen years in multiple high schools across Delaware County.
Why Spanish? She loved architecture and similar engineering topics, but “could not do calculus.” She enjoyed biology, but couldn’t tell if she loved it enough to dedicate her teaching career to it. However, Mrs. Rudisill described, “I loved history. I loved arts, and so I figured that if I became a Spanish teacher, I could dabble in all of those areas in another language and make learning the language for my students much more meaningful, because I could bring in all these other elements. We could talk about art and music, culture and history, literature and science and medical terms, but in the Spanish language.” She drew not only from her studies, but also from her upbringing as a heritage Spanish speaker to bring the language and culture alive for her high school students.
She described her joy working solely with high schoolers, “mostly because [we] still have a great sense of wonder, enthusiasm, curiosity, and are genuinely funny people.” Mrs. Rudisill taught in a variety of environments, from Cardinal O’Hara High School (right in front of Radnor Elementary) to Avon Grove School District to the Academy of Notre Dame, where she helped to build a global studies program.
After over a decade as a classroom teacher, however, Mrs. Rudisill noticed many students being left behind by their schools, and she wanted to “be part of a change” by moving to the administrative side of education. So, about eight years ago, she transitioned to a new role as an Assistant Principal in Coatesville, the same district where Dr. MacNamara got his start in education.
From there, Mrs. Rudisill climbed the administrative ladder, moving to Kennett School District to serve a large community of Spanish speakers. She joined the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU) later on as a Supervisor of Special Education Services, a role that “blended two things I’m most passionate about—language and culture, as well as serving students with exceptional needs.” She stayed at DCIU for almost three years, where she grew her arsenal of administrative skills like budgeting and programming. But there was one problem: she had no opportunity to interact with students. “It kind of crushed me when I realized that I spent all my time in budget meetings and dealing with adults and I got no time with students.”
It was at that point when she saw that Dr. MacNamara was looking for a new Assistant Principal to replace Ms. Manoukian, who moved to Radnor Middle School.
“I decided to put my hat in the ring and I am overjoyed that I’m now at Radnor!” said Mrs. Rudisill. “It’s an amazing group of students, an amazing group of teachers and staff. It’s a fantastic district. I have felt very welcome here.”
At the time of this interview, Mrs. Rudisill had only been at Radnor for three months, but I was curious to learn; what were her favorite parts of our school so far? According to Mrs. Rudisill, “my favorite part was honestly the overwhelming school pride that I saw leading up to and during LM week, and that pride got extended even to the soccer championship. The level of school pride that you guys demonstrate all the time is tremendous.” She told me that throughout her life as a teacher, administrator, and even as a student in a large Los Angeles high school, she had never witnessed school pride quite like ours.
As Assistant Principal of Radnor High School, Mrs. Rudisill is most excited to “help students realize that high school is really an opportunity to not only try things that are outside your comfort level, but it’s also the best place that you’re ever going to make mistakes. Here is the chance to learn from your mistakes.” Additionally, she encourages students to push boundaries, particularly those surrounding the prominent college admissions culture. It’s ok to try new activities…just to try them!
Mrs. Rudisill and I discussed topics ranging from Jules Pizza in Wayne to the annual Mushroom Fest in Kennett Square (which I had no idea even existed!) to the merits of binge-watching TV shows. And as our conversation came to a close, there were just a few more nuggets of critical information I hoped to obtain.
When I asked about her favorite movie, Mrs. Rudisill couldn’t decide on one; “I have two, depending on the day.” One of them is The Crow, a 1994 movie starring Brandon Lee and tackling stories of vengeance. Mrs. Rudisill thoroughly enjoys the horror/slash revenge genre of film. The second movie, The Prophecy (1995), deals with angels, good and bad. “I’m fascinated with the idea that angels are not always good and sometimes there are bad angels, and the idea that the bad and good angels sometimes fight.”
As for music, Mrs. Rudisill most enjoys heavy metal, grunge and punk, from bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, and The Cure. But her playlists do not consist of these genres alone—Mrs. Rudisill also likes classical music for its peaceful mood. And, she taught me about a more obscure genre called ska, which has fallen out of popularity. Ska, Mrs. Rudisill explained, “is a merge of punk and R&B. So there are lots of horns, trumpets and saxophones. I love it because it’s very catchy and danceable!”
I took this away from my interview with our new Assistant Principal: Mrs. Rudisill is a committed educator and administrator who has high hopes for the Radnor community, and she has quite a remarkable story. I encourage everyone to say hello to her when they get the chance. Welcome to Radnor, Mrs. Rudisill!
