Marcel Lucchese | The Thing About Working Where You Are From
Returning to your hometown to build a career is a specific kind of professional choice. The implications take years to become visible. Marcel Lucchese grew up in Kingston, New York . His father is from Brooklyn; his background is northern Irish and Sicilian. He left Kingston for Florida State University on a track and field scholarship. He left again for New York City and Brooklyn College for his master's degree. Both times, he came back. He has been in the Kingston City School District for 25 years. That is not a career default. It is a decision that shaped what his career became. What Familiarity Gives You Working in a place where you grew up provides a form of contextual knowledge that no amount of professional preparation can manufacture. Lucchese knows which neighborhoods in Kingston have which kinds of family situations. He knows the history of the school system across multiple administrations. He knows which staff relationships are long-standing and which are more recent. Th...