Williams shining example of Greater New Orleans area leadership

By Marielle Songy

Since 1962, Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero has made it its mission to educate and shape the young men of the Westbank and the New Orleans area. As stated on Archbishop Shaw’s website, the mission of Archbishop Shaw High School is to provide a program that furthers the college preparatory education of its students in a manner consistent with the doctrines of Catholic education and in the context of the Salesian philosophy and teachings of St. John Bosco as manifested in his Preventive System of Education: Reason, Religion, Kindness, and Active Presence.

At the helm of Archbishop Shaw High School is Mark Williams, a graduate of the Shaw class of 1985 and principal of the institution since 2016. Mr. Williams received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans and most recently received his educational doctorate from the University of Holy Cross, a process that took three years of hard work, long hours and dedication. Mr. Williams is a former football coach who worked in the private business sector before he was an educator, so he’s no stranger to late nights and early mornings. He knew that working as the principal of Archbishop Shaw while pursuing his degree would take a lot of time, but he was up for the challenge. In April 2019 he completed his dissertation; “Forming a Social Media Strategy of School Marketing, Enrollment, Impact and Advancement of Private Schools.” Mr. Williams chose this topic in order to help local private schools market themselves and easily share their mission with the public.

Mr. Williams says that he loves working at Archbishop Shaw where he is surrounded by hardworking, smart people, including students, who have made the pursuit of education their mission. Mr. Williams also tells me that Archbishop Shaw High School works closely with Academy of Our Lady, the all-girls Westbank Catholic High School, also located in Marrero, in co-ed events such as the swim team, the community service group Key Club, as well as reward lunches and events. Both of these Salesian schools have the same mission of guiding young people into having a future that they can be proud of. Mr. Williams says that the most important thing that he and Archbishop Shaw want to do is teach young men the importance of morality and ethics through a stable education and through example. His goal is to encourage students to seek leadership positions in their lives and teach young men how to be responsible adults. Archbishop Shaw is an important part of not only the Westbank community, but of the New Orleans area, and one of the most important things is that educators work side by side with students and guide them into their future.

People like Mark Williams make the Westbank better by establishing a solid foundation for the young people of our area. It’s important work like his that shapes the leaders of tomorrow. Archbishop Shaw High School is located at 1000 Salesian Ln. in Marrero and they can be reached at 340-6727.