Working Hard & Being Kind: The Legacy of Mr. Moxley

Dedicated. Dependable. Determined. Done, and driving away. 

Mr. Moxley, after 38 years, is leaving his life of work for the rest of retirement. He served dutifully here at Judah Christian School for five years, but altogether, Mr. Moxley has been a teacher for 12 years and a principal for 26. He has served in many other roles in that time as well, including as a church elder, as an athletic director, as a coach for girls softball and boys wrestling, and as a camp counselor for the Christ-based Awana camps. Many of these jobs he has worked at passionately for more than a decade.

Despite his retirement from professional education, Mr. Moxley has expressed an unyielding desire to continue his work in the church. In fact, he is willing to serve as if he never retired at all. He said, “A lot of times when people retire, they think they’re retiring out of not just their work but also retiring out of service at church. I don’t think that’s the right way to think about it. There’s a lot of wisdom and experience in people who have been around a while, and they can mentor young families.”

Mr. Moxley started his trek toward being a principal in Mahomet public schools, where he was a teacher and a coach. But after more than a decade in those roles, he longed for a new challenge. He said, “To move up in public schools, you have to get a master’s degree in something.” So he decided to pursue his master’s degree in school administration.

Mr. Moxley said, “When I first started the program, I really didn’t want to be a principal. But about halfway through, I thought, ‘This sounds interesting. I think I could do this, and I think I can impact a greater number of people through leadership.’” After getting his master’s degree, Mr. Moxley clearly did make a difference — as a grade school principal in Fisher for 21 years!

By 2020, he was set to retire at the end of the school year, but the infamous surprise of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Mr. Moxley and his students into their homes before year-end. Discouraged and dejected, Mr. Moxley thought that he had ended his principal career on a COVID note. 

But that was not the end. Mr. Moxley dusted himself off and decided to apply for an open secondary principal position here, at Judah Christian School. It has been a perfect fit for him. He said, “I’ve really enjoyed my time with my staff. They are wonderful, godly people who really care about kids and have servant hearts.”

As the secondary principal and now superintendent of Judah, Mr. Moxley has many more jobs to do than just work behind the scenes. But it all boils down to the magic word: leadership. Along with leading students and faculty, he must strive to be an example for support staff and even members of the school board. He has to make sure that people do not ever regret bringing their children here. As he said, “It’s just a very all-encompassing position. Setting the climate of the school is part of it. I want everyone to feel like it’s a safe environment and a well-run environment and that there is good discipline here, but also that it’s a place where kids feel loved, encouraged, and cared for.” 

Another reason that Mr. Moxley was grateful for the added working years here at Judah was to resolve a small case of identity crisis. He used to ask himself questions like “what am I going to do?” and “who am I going to be when I’m not principal anymore?” He was filled with doubt and worry about his future as a retiree. But now, he has come to terms with who he really is. He said, “These extra five years working at Judah gave me some time to figure stuff out, and now, it’s less of a problem for me. It’s not about who I am in the eyes of man. It’s about who I am in the eyes of the Lord.”

Mr. Moxley has had a blast at Judah, and a key accomplice in his travels has been the future superintendent of the school, Mr. Porter, who has been his food friend for as long as he has been here. Mr. Moxley said, “I’ve spent the most amount of time with Mr. Porter. He and I are kind of lunch buddies, and we have had a lot of fun talking over the past four or five years. I think he’s going to be a great leader for Judah moving forward.”

As Mr. Moxley’s time at Judah comes to an end, he wants to leave the Judah community with two Bible passages that complement his message: Colossians 3:23 and Ephesians 4:32. Colossians 3:23 reads, “Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master.” Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.” These verses portray having a work ethic pleasing to God and expressing kindness to those around us as God would have us do. Mr. Moxley said, “If these two verses are what I’m remembered for, then that will be a good thing.”

Judah will miss Mr. Moxley, but as with all things, Judah has no plans to mope forever. Life goes on, and next year Mr. Porter will take his place as superintendent and Mrs. Llano will take his place as secondary principal. Both Mr. Porter and Mrs. Llano will bring much to the table. All that’s needed for us is hope, a sense of morale, and a bountiful amount of prayer to bring up the army of Judah into a new year once more!

—Michael Oshimokun, class of ’26