Student Profile | Chris Lash

Baker graduate is motivated to make a positive difference in the life of children.

Early in the morning on a brisk fall day, Chris Lash, dressed sharply in a suit and tie, makes the rounds at Rising Star Elementary School.

Trailing a group of students walking in single file, Lash picks up a fallen mitten and a pencil dropped from a backpack. He returns the pencil to the student and says, "Make sure you hold the pencil with the sharp point facing down while you walk."

Looking out for the well-being of his students is a role Lash takes seriously as principal of the K-6 school with an enrollment of 400 students. Having an impact on their development inspires him.

"I am motivated by the opportunity to make a positive difference in the life of a child," Lash said. "Every day you have the opportunity to make a difference. I want every child to achieve at his or her highest level and be successful in life. That is our calling as educators. Every day brings new opportunities. I look at every situation, every challenge as an opportunity to do something great."

Lash worked his way from night custodian to fifth-grade teacher to school principal.

In the past decade, Lash has come a long way. In the mid-1990s, he worked part time as a night custodian at Bonjour Elementary School while he attended an area community college. For 18 months, he scrubbed floors and bathrooms while maintaining a full load of classes.

Eventually "retiring" from the custodian business, he became an educational aide before receiving a bachelor's degree in elementary education. He began substituting in the Shawnee Mission School District and taught fifth grade for five years. Aspiring to be a school administrator, he earned a Master of Arts in Education in 2004 from Baker University and later received his building licensure from Baker.

Lash is a proud product of the Shawnee Mission School District, where he gained a love of learning. He knew as an elementary student that someday he wanted to be a leader in education.

"I remember for Career Day dressing up in a suit for the day with a Dr. Lash name tag," he said. "I did set a goal to be a principal and I knew early on that's what I wanted to be."