Mr. Adas is the primary senior English and AP Language and Composition teacher at Kearsley High School. The outside persona of Mr. Adas can often come off as drained or isolated, however, anyone who has had his class can tell you that he often opens up a little more. To his students, Mr. Adas seems to be a rather happy and caring guy.
It is unsurprising given Mr. Adas’s physical appearance to find out he was a rather successful athlete. Adas is roughly 6’2 and played basketball, baseball, track & field, and cross country. His favorite memories from each of these he stated that for Cross Country it was going to cross country camp in August. Even though practices were grueling, the camaraderie with his teammates made it memorable. For basketball once again, it would have to be team camps in the summer.
This is his favorite memory because “there is nothing better than playing multiple games in a day and hanging out with your teammates after.”
Adas has remarked his passion for sports as coming from his older brothers. This connection with family is something that Adas truly values.
Mr. Adas has raised 3 children and has been married for 33 years. Mr. Adas credits his successful parenting to the following:
“ Talk to your children every day. Make sure you ask probing questions when they are teenagers so you know what is going on in their lives. You will build trust when you know what they are thinking and feeling. Also, read to your children everyday when they are young.”
This advice shows his values of communication and connection within his family.
Adas spends a large portion of class telling students stories. These stories have ranged from his time in Australia to a kid who hid in a bush outside of his class room. These stories symbolize the relationship he builds between himself and his students. He aims to connect and build a relationship to where he students enjoy talking to him.
Mr. Adas earned his teaching credentials from the University of Michigan-Flint after being inspired by one of his professors to take up the career. He entered into a program that he accredits as the best experience of his life where he was able to help teach classes at Holmes Middle School. Looking back he couldn’t imagine living out life following a different career path than he did.
As this is his 36th year at Kearsley High School, he is one of the most knowledgeable on how the community has evolved. Mr. Adas made a point to highlight his admiration for the community and why he has stuck around it for so long. “
The one thing I really admire about this community is how people are hard working,” Adas said. “I have a lot of respect for people who work hard and serve as role models to their children.”
This love for hard work has lasted during his time as a coach. Adas has been very successful as a coach, coaching Cross Country- 35 years (all varsity roles), Track & Field – 37 years (34 in varsity coaching roles), Basketball – 29 years (24 years varsity). He coached middle school basketball and track at Kearsley while he attended college at the University of Michigan-Flint because of athletic experiences at Kearsley while he was a student, and he continued when he was hired as a teacher in 1989.
His favorite memory coaching was at the MHSAA state championship his track & field team won in 2004.
He regarded this feat by exclaiming “What a memorable experience! I was proud of all my athletes performing at an elite level on state championship day.”
Winning a state championship is such a rare accolade for any coach or team and it is a true memento of an excellent coaching career.
For closing remarks Mr. Adas declared that his favorite quote is “The purpose of our lives is to be happy” – Dalai Lama, because “It is important to enjoy life and have a purpose in everything you do!”
