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“It’s rough out there you got to be ready,” Mark Robinson said in an interview with The Navigator. A very important member of the Southwest community, Robinson, the dean of students, spoke to The Navigator about what led him to Southwest, where he is known for his quotable phrases.
Robinson was born in Saint Andrews, Jamaica. When he was three years old his parents went to the United States to get things ready to settle in Brooklyn, New York. For the next five years he stayed with aunt in Clarendon, Jamaica, which is about 53 km (33 miles) from the capital, Kingston.
His journey with the public school system is about 26 years. Before he started he worked at a Honeywell district office. He found that job did not fit him. He soon saw a job post at Susan B. Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis. The job application was for a Child Development Technician and not long after connecting with the Minneapolis Public School district, he got the job.
He worked with kids with disabilities and enjoyed working with students. His path to Southwest was paved when the assistant principal at the middle school was moving over to be a principal at Southwest. He decided to go with them to make a difference as a dean. He soon fell in love with making a difference as a dean, as he saw himself in the students he was working with.
“I enjoy what I do and love coming to work everyday. I feel like I’m built for it, Robinson said.
Everyone knows that Robinson is a terrific dean, but a better kept secret is that he is a master DJ. For anyone interested in being a DJ, Robinson is your guy. He runs DJ club at Southwest and also has DJ’d multiple school dances at Southwest.
