ARLINGTON, Texas–Quentyn Seamster is the longest serving principal at ILTexas. The ILTexas Arlington-Grand Prairie High School principal has been with the charter for the past seven years, and has served in the field of education for over a decade. The ILTexas mission of servant leadership, and its "Others Before Self" motto, sparked his intrigue when discovering the charter.  

“I had never heard of another school trying to prepare students to be international leaders,” he said. “That's one of the main focuses that drew me to the school, the mission and the vision and what we're trying to do for students.”

For Seamster, being a principal is encompassed in servant leadership.

“You have to be willing to do all the jobs around the school as a principal,” he said. “I do everything from picking up pieces of paper that are on the floor to instructing the teachers, but I'm not too big on myself to go into a classroom and teach a class if I need to, or at times counsel students when they need good advice . . . so I think all of those things rolled up together are what we define as being a servant leader.” Seamster added that with being a principal, “you get a daily dose of that.”

From showing up early, to staying late if need be, Seamster makes sure his campus is running to the best of its ability with the help of teachers and staff. 

“There's no job that is too big [nor] too small,” he said. “We have to do what we need to do in order to have students succeed and to make sure that [they] are the ones who are enjoying a great year.”

And being able to interact with students and see them succeed are what make Seamster love his role as principal. 

“When you see students who are able to reach their dreams and goals, [or] when you see students who come into school, maybe not being where they would like to be or where they need to be [academically] and then they graduate . . . it's all worthwhile,” he said. 

“I wouldn't pick another job at all. It's my favorite job in the world.”

Visit ILTexas.org for more campus news and events.