This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
BOALSBURG – Dr. Geoffrey Miller joined Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy as principal on Aug. 13.
He brings over 20 years of experience in Catholic education to the parochial school.
“When I saw the opening for the principal position at St. Joseph’s, I was intrigued because I’ve been to State College many times and I have roots in Pennsylvania on my mother’s side,” Miller said. “As I learned more about the school, I was excited to see it places a high value on academics, and it fills an important need by providing a faith-based education in the area.”
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy is a Catholic, college preparatory high school located in Boalsburg offering strong academic, athletic, religious, and co-curricular opportunities.
Miller was offered the position “after a nationwide search, with much prayer and many interviews,” Robert Shearer, Chairman of the Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy Board of Trustees, wrote in his announcement to the school community of Miller’s appointment in August.
Miller earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and has advanced degrees from St. Louis University and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching roles at a variety of Catholic schools, Miller has held senior level administrative positions at St. Ignatius Prep in Chicago and Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo, Ill.
“In my few weeks at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy, I’ve already seen that St. Joseph’s is probably the best kept secret in central Pennsylvania,” Miller said. “The students are great, the faculty and staff are top notch, and the culture is amazing. We’re smaller than a lot of public schools in the area, which creates a more nurturing environment where everyone knows each other by name.”
As an avid sports fan, Miller is impressed that at St. Joseph’s, “each student gets the opportunity for regular playing time and the ability to participate fully rather than having to sit on the sidelines or getting cut from a team, as often happens at larger schools.”
He is already thinking about how to improve the school experience.
“We have a very talented faculty here and having some direction and putting some prudent policies in place will go a long way to making us an even stronger school,” Miller said.
