Born in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky to a family of coal miners, Mr. John Hall values hard work and family.

Hall is laid back but certainly not naive.

Hall, an English teacher, describes himself as a theater geek and a hobby farmer who enjoys running.

For Hall, running is an opportunity to free his mind and contemplate life. It also serves as an opportunity to get rid of those who cannot keep up.

“I live multiple lives,” Hall said. “I am a parent, a soldier, and a teacher.”

Hall has two daughters, Savannah and Samantha, with his wife of 32 years, Mrs. Laura Hall.

“My favorite thing about who I am is that my family looks to me as a good father, as someone who is a provider, but also someone who is an example of always striving to do better and be better than you were yesterday,” Hall said.

His wife is currently teaching English at Chernevtsi National University in Eastern Ukraine with the Peace Corps.

She serves as the associate professor for the Foreign Languages Department, where she teaches students who want to become English teachers and translators.

This is different from how their family usually runs because Hall is typically the one away from home since he is an officer in the Michigan Army National Guard.

Hall said that the best principal he ever worked for was Mr. Mike Hearn, from when he worked in Florida many years ago.

“He told me, ‘To be truly effective, you must teach like a coach. A coach encourages, provides positive feedback, and makes challenging training fun,'” Hall said. “I have applied this principle to raising my children, leading my soldiers, as well as teaching my students. In all cases, I am proud to say it has led to success.”

Being a soldier is an important part of Hall’s life.

He began his service in 1984 and continues to serve his country today.

Hall believes that everyone should serve their country. All four boys in his family are service members.

“By using myself as a sacrifice, the country will be better,” Hall said. “It is not about me, but about the community.”

When he was 20, his first enlistment was as a medic specialist in the 82nd Airborne.

He later graduated from a Marine Corps officer candidate school in Quantico, Va.

During his time in the military, Hall has been activated to serve domestically as well as overseas — even in a combat zone.

He was deployed to Iraq, serving in public affairs in Baghdad from 2008 to 2009.

At one point, Hall and his daughter Savannah, an Army major, were both deployed in Iraq at the same time, although not in the same area.

In the past two or three years, Hall has done repeat NATO mission support in the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Hall, currently a lieutenant colonel, commands the 126th Press Camp at Fort Custer in Battle Creek.

“In the military I learned that you can either do what is right for your subordinates or you can please your boss,” Hall said. “I have always felt that I was there to serve my soldiers, to make their lives better.”

Aside from commanding, Hall also coaches the cross country and track teams at Kearsley.

Sophomore Brooklyn Dever runs cross country and track for Hall and thinks he is a creative coach.

“He makes cross country fun and it seems like you are not even practicing, just having fun,” Dever said. “He is very supportive and encouraging.”

He also coached wrestling for 15 years between his time at Kearsley and in Florida.

Watching athletes succeed and reach their full potential is one of Hall’s favorite parts of coaching.

In addition, Hall has been the director of theater at Kearsley for two years now.

In the past two years, Hall has directed, “Drop Dead, Juliet!,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and KHS’ latest production “Mmmbeth.”

Junior Rian Schulz has participated in the past three plays that Hall has directed and believes that he is the best man for the job.

“He is a wonderful director that has clear ideas about what the plays should look like,” Schulz said. “He has gotten a lot of work accomplished and keeps the production of the plays on task and fun.”

His favorite part about directing plays is the imagination.

“I enjoy the expression of human spirit,” Hall said.

For Hall, being a teacher is about the personal connections that he makes with his students.

Hall has taught at Kearsley High School for 16 years and taught around 16 different subjects, including sociology, creative writing, theater, world history, AP Language and Composition, and psychology.

He credits his becoming a teacher to the teachers that he had when he was in school.

“Those I admired were innovators in the classroom who taught with a unique style that drew students in and had them learning even when they didn’t realize it was happening,” Hall said.

Senior Michaella Ford has Hall as a teacher for Senior English this year, and she said she enjoys being around him.

“On the outside he is laid back and calm, but on the inside he is such a cool guy that I could see him as being a secret agent,” Ford said.

The teaching style that Hall uses is somewhat different than the other teachers.

He believes that students learn better in more creative environments.

Hall feels that there is never a right or wrong way to do anything and that different styles of learning work for different individuals.

He said he is proud of his daughters and wife, his former students, and the small contributions that he has made in the world.

“I believe that my children and family, my students, and my soldiers are contributing to a better world,” Hall said.