Upon first entering athletic director Doug Schornick’s office, visitors are greeted with the presence of a large beehive sitting upon his cabinets.

As the head of the athletic department, he has a variety of jobs that consume his time,  mainly running the business side of the department and the athletics budget. 

Some of his biggest roles include, but are not limited to, dealing with parent issues, working with the community and speaking on behalf of Perry in the IHSAA decision-making processes. 

But he doesn’t find himself falling into a daily routine.

“Every day is different,” Schornick says. “I can step in this office at 7:00 and not know what to expect.”

When he steps out of his office, though, he likes to spend his time hunting and fishing. It explains the hive in his office, serving as a reminder of his love of the outdoors.

But when he’s on the job, his experience has taught him to lead with a team mentality.

With an education degree from Franklin College, he taught P.E. and Health at Southwestern Shelby for seven years and has been working at different schools as an athletic director for 19 years.

“We focus on our strengths in this office and make it a team concept,” Schornick says.

After his experience with so many students, he’s been able to discover his own definition of success.

“Success is not always wins and losses,” Schornick explains. “Success is watching someone mature, watching someone do something they’ve never done before, watching someone improve. Those are successes.”

Although he does a lot behind the scenes for the school, many students benefit from the hard work he puts into his job.

“I feel like people really don’t know what I do,” Schornick laments. “They don’t think about what would go into the hours I put in to stay afloat.”

Even though he’s spent time at various schools, Perry stands out to Schornick for one thing.

“I absolutely love our melting pot of diversity,” he says fondly. “I cherish it. I think it’s, of all the schools I’ve been at, the most rewarding with just every day being something different… I don’t know if people realize how good we’ve got it.”