Westerbeek puts cap on career

The Clinton City Schools system bid a fond farewell to a beloved member of its administration with the recent retirement of Clinton High School principal Susan Westerbeek.

“Retiring is a bittersweet feeling because I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure in education, however it is time for me to move into the next phase of my life,” Westerbeek said in a recent interview.

Her long and touted career in education has been ongoing since the 1990s where she started as a science teacher. She’d grow much in that life, eventually becoming an assistant principal and then principal, a career that started at James Kenan before she found her way to the Sampson and Clinton City school systems.

“I began my career in education in 1996 at James Kenan High School prior to working in Clinton City and Sampson County school districts,” Westerbeek said. “I have served as a science teacher for 10 1/2 years, assistant principal for 4 1/2 years and principal for 13 years, the last five of those at Clinton High School.”

After dedicating nearly three decades to education, walking away was, she said, bittersweet, but having given so much to her career she knew the time had come to retire.

“As the quote says, ‘chose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life,’ I have enjoyed my career, but again, it’s just time to move on,” she said. “That does not mean it has not had its challenges, but the rewards have far out weighed any challenge I faced.”

When looking back over her long tenure in the profession there were a lot of fond memories and moments in which she takes great pride. For her, above any accolades she may have earned, it was the people around her and serving the community she was raised in that meant the most, she attested.

”The people I have met along the way, coworkers, students, parents and community members, thank you,” she asserted. “It has been a privilege and honor to serve in the community that I grew up in. To God and my family, I could not have done it without your support each and every day, thank you!”

There are many who already miss Westerbeek now that she no longer holds the reigns of the CHS Dark Horses, perhaps none more than her longtime colleague and superintendent Dr. Wesley Johnson.

“Principal Westerbeek, she’s definitely a Dark Horse in heart, mind, soul and spirit,” he said. “A former student, former teacher, and then she came to us about 5 1/2 years ago to be our administrator there in the high school; she will definitely be missed.

“She is the consummate professional. She was always there on time, always willing to stay late and would do anything that she’s asked to do if she felt like it’s in the best interest of students. It’s going to be hard not having here at the helm, but we wish her, of course, a lot of luck and godspeed in her retirement.”

Johnson not only hired Westerbeek as CHS principal but he was the one who recruited her to the position as well.

But it wasn’t his original plan.

“Wow, that’s a great story,” the superintendent noted about how Westerbeek was hired. “I had worked with Susan previously in the county schools so I had been a colleague of hers. Then when I was in the central office and I was the assistant superintendent I was kind of her direct supervisor.

“We actually were moving in a different direction, and hiring a guy from South Carolina, but he had a situation that occurred with his family that caused him to move to Illinois.”

After that fell through, Johnson found himself in dire straights and in need of a new principal at CHS. It was then that Westerbeek came to mind, a feeling, he said, came from deep in his spirit.

”I was at a loss and had no idea what to do or no idea where to go,” he stressed. “I was in a meeting doing a summative on another principal and just kind of got a feeling in my spirit that I needed to go talk to Susan. I headed over to the Early College, and just kind of walked in her office and said — ‘Look, I’m here to make you an offer, do you have any interest’ and she said, yeah, I definitely have interest … the rest is history.”

Now that her career is capped off with retirement, Westerbeek said her plans for the future were simple. “In retirement, I look forward to traveling and spending time with my loved ones.”

Johnson on the other, while wishing her many blessings, jokingly said he wishes she’ll come back to Clinton City Schools in about six months, in some capacity.

“We look forward to, hopefully, maybe in six months or so, being able to employ her again in Clinton City Schools, maybe some double dipping, I’ll say,” he said. “I mean, she’s just awesome, willing to work on academics, a big part of the athletics, big part of the band. She’s just everything that you would ever want …

“Either way, we’ve been excited to have her for these last several years, and again, we appreciate her hard work and efforts, and we wish her the best as she moves forward in retirement.”