Life Turns Around for Man Who Worked As School Cleaner for 27 Years, He’s Now Principal of the Same Workplace
- Gabe Sonnier worked as a janitor for 27 years before he went back to school to get his teaching first degree and masters
- Decades after he was encouraged to get his certificates, Gabe was promoted to the level of a principal at the same school he cleaned
- Many social media users who were inspired by his story said that the man was really determined to be better
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A man has shown that hard work and patience are powerful enough to change anybody’s life. Gabe Sonnier walked as a janitor at Port Barre Elementary school for 25 years.
One day in 1985, the principal of the school, Westley Jones, called him aside and told him that he would rather love to see him marking papers than cleaning around, Goal Cast reports.
Source: UGC
He took steps
Gabe said the principal’s words really touched him. At 39 years old, the man went to school. He combined schooling with work, leaving little room for any leisure activity.
After getting a teaching degree, he was able to get his first job as a teacher in 2008 at Port Barre Elementary. He never stopped there, the man also got his master’s degree. Years after in 2013, he was promoted to the level of a principal, CBS reports.
He remained humble despite his new status
An interesting thing is that despite his new level, the man still cleans his own office. Speaking about his success, he said:
“Don’t let the situation that you’re in now define what you’re going to become later. I always tell them it’s not where you start, it’s how you finish.”
Below are people's reactions on Instagram:
christiegram__ said:
"Lovely to aspire to something else but wrong with being a cleaner? The world needs them too!"
dreadreaoc said:
"Two principals with exceptional principles."
allyouneedisorange said:
"One of the nicest people I remember from my childhood was the school janitor. He was a well-respected, gentle man. I remember him although I haven't seen him in over four decades..."
jacob_the_snowman said:
"And who better to run the school, frankly."
Young CEO of 4 companies
In other news, a Ghanaian man by the name, Samuel Boadu, has recently revealed in an interview that he is the CEO of four companies in Ghana.
The interesting part of his story is the fact that he decided to establish his first company right after his national service.
Samuel admonished Ghanaians to focus on looking after each other as it feels good and drives the right behaviour necessary for all.
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Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah (HOD Entertainment) Jeffrey is the Head of the Entertainment Desk and a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) with over 10 years of experience in journalism. He started as a reporter with Ghana News Agency (GNA). He joined Primnewsghana.com in 2016 as an editor. He moved to YEN.com.gh in 2017 as an editor and has risen to his current position. You can contact him via e-mail: j.owusu-mensah@yen.com.gh
Aba Afful (Copyeditor) Maame Aba serves as a copy editor at YEN.com.gh. She naturally enjoys working with words and has an eye for quality content. She has a keen interest in cyberspace and wants to see YEN.com.gh produce more impactful, thought-provoking, and error-free content. Aba has five years of experience as a content writer, blogger, author, and proofreader. She graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2017. She joined the team in 2021.
