Announcing Our New Director of Community Engagement, Diversity, and Belonging
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Radar Onguetou as Asheville School’s new Director of Community Engagement, Diversity, and Belonging. In this new position, Radar will lead faculty and student development programs in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), conflict resolution, and belonging. Originally from Cameroon, Radar holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and is working toward his doctoral degree in Conflict Resolution. He joined the Asheville School faculty in the fall of 2021 as a humanities teacher and basketball coach. “Radar is the ideal person to fill this important role at Asheville School,” said Anthony Sgro, Head of School. “He is a deep thinker, a natural leader, and his unique set of interpersonal skills have already had an important and lasting impact on our school community.”
We caught up with Radar as he prepares for the 2022-23 school year:
What was your path to Asheville School?
I began my professional career in 2011 at my alma mater, New Hampton School (NHS), following the completion of my master’s degree in Public Administration at the University of New Hampshire. I taught Social Studies (Civics, US History, and Economics) and French during my time at NHS, and also served as the Diversity Coordinator. I moved to Florida in the fall of 2016 to begin work on my PhD in Conflict Resolution. While pursuing my doctoral studies, I worked at Monarch High School (MHS) in Broward County Public School where I taught US Government, African American History, Economics, French, and served as the Equity Liaison. After I completed the course load in the doctoral program, I accepted a teaching position at an independent school in Boston, MA where I was for two years until I accepted a teaching position at Asheville School. Nick Whitmore is my connection to Asheville School – having worked with Nick and his wife, B Cornog, at NHS, it made my decision easy.
What have you enjoyed most about your time at AS thus far?
I have enjoyed the fact that there is a lot of room to take initiative at Asheville School. I value the fact that Dr. Sgro is very flexible and often creates room for meaningful conversations among faculty and students. I am thrilled with the connections I have been able to forge in just a year and I am excited about the future.
How do you hope your new role will help the school evolve?
I have always believed that a vision has the potential to be transformative when everyone is part of the making of that vision, while knowing that we might not agree in everything. My new role will allow me to reach out to students, faculty, staff, and administrators to get their valuable insights. My hope is to create buy-in, foster collaboration, and to ensure that every member of the Asheville School community feels valued.
What are you most excited about for the new school year?
I am excited to collaborate with administrators, teachers, staff and students, and engage in meaningful action.
What advice do you have for new BIPOC students who arrive in the fall?
The biggest goal that I have for new BIPOC students who arrive in the fall is to offer ways for them to be engaged. This is my most important piece of advice: get involved, do not sit on the sidelines, embrace the unknown, take initiative, and ask for support when you need it. I plan to constantly reach out to our new students to ensure they have the proper support and guidance from their fellow students, teachers, staff, and administrators.