Sydney Glover
Staff Writer
In her earlier years, she auditioned for MTV’s “Road Rules,” a reality show where a random group of seven people travel cross country in a RV and do a series of challenges. Although she was not cast she made it very far into the casting process. Who was almost a reality TV star? Sarah Dorn, the new principal of Sandy High School.
Surprisingly enough, “Road Rules” would not be the end of her television journey. “My husband and I were on ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ with Guy Fieri for the Country Cat… it was a cafe in Southeast Portland,” Dorn said.
In addition to Dorn’s love of reality TV, she is a big fan of music. Specifically, Pink’s music, who is her favorite artist. She was even able to attend her last concert with a friend.
“It was amazing. She was swinging on the trapeze over the audience, it was incredible, … she’s just incredible,” Dorn said. One of her favorite Pink songs is “Cover Me In Sunshine”.
“I love that song, it’s so good,” Dorn said.
Music isn’t the only form of art that she enjoys; she also enjoys movies and plays, such as “Hamilton.” “I love ‘Hamilton’ the musical. I think it’s so good, I could watch that like 20 times,” Dorn said. Additionally, two of her favorite movies are “Notting Hill” and “Music and Lyrics,” Dorn said.She loves rom coms.
But what kind of story would this be if I didn’t reveal her big secret. “I will say I’m a fast food junkie and a Starbucks junkie…I have trouble driving past a Starbucks without stopping,” Dorn said.
She even cleans out the wrappers from her car so her husband won’t see that she got anything. And if you wanted to try her favorite drink, it’s a grande iced coffee with light cream. She also recommends that you get a pumpkin scone to pair with it. However, she agrees that pumpkin spiced lattes aren’t worth all the hype.
Needless to say, she has lived an eventful life; but it has not been without its trials.
“I was born premature and they diagnosed me as having something at the time they called ‘failure to thrive’ and so I was considered a special ed student or a student with disabilities… and was designated as that I think up until… third or fourth grade,” Dorn said.
This disability caused her to not be able to speak well, leading people to think she was not learning at the same rate of other children. This even threatened her progression through school.
“I distinctly remember hearing the phone call and they thought I should repeat the second grade and I remember crying and crying and crying and saying ‘no, no, no’ and my mom listened to me and pushed me through,” Dorn said.
With the help of her mother, teachers, and speech therapy, she was able to go onto the third grade. She was even placed in advanced classes in high school.
Her experiences as a child had a big impact on what she wants to do as a principal. “I remember I was so stressed because I was working all the time and I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Dorn said. Since Dorn never had a plan for after high school, she is really focusing on helping students make their own plans.
“Going to community college or working is just as important as going to a university, but I want them to have a plan,” Dorn said. In addition to this she wants to create a “warm and kind environment.”
She wants all students to “have something here that they connect with” and feel as though they belong at SHS. Not only that, she strongly believes that “everything we do builds us into who we are,” and that the staff is not only here to give us an education but to “support students through their high school years.”
Sarah Dorn is very personable and has big aspirations for Sandy High School. She is very new to this position and still learning the ropes. Just like the juniors, this is her third year too; things have been ever changing since she got here. That being said, she is very excited for this new position.
“I love it, it’s hard and challenging; but it’s also fun and rewarding,” Dorn said. Furthermore, she’s got a job that’s more fascinating than any reality show.
The Pioneer Press 