Education is his passion

Jim Irving is a Maricopa Unified School District super-volunteer.

He started giving his time at the high school fall 2005 when he and his wife first moved to Maricopa. In September 2011, he filled a vacant seat on the district’s governing board and, last August, he assumed the roll of volunteer coordinator for the entire district.

“I spent all my life in education and working with kids,” Irving said. “It’s really my passion.”

He worked as a teacher and principal in his home state Illinois and was the director of juvenile corrections for the state before he retired in 1993. He moved to Florida and resumed work at a private correctional company for four years before officially retiring in 2001.

Irving has a bachelor’s degree in history and education from Drake University in Iowa and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. He did post-master’s work in secondary education, also at NIU.

He and his wife, Deena, moved to Maricopa to be closer to their grandkids. 

“My son, Chad, moved here from Seattle and my wife decided we were going to move, too,” he said.

Now, at the high school, he spends most of his time volunteering in the career center.

He provides students with all the materials they need to prepare for college and gives them tips on how to succeed. However, he said he also prepares them for situations that aren’t in the catalogs.

“I can give them a ton of information, but that doesn’t tell them what social group to get into or how to deal with a roommate that’s a slob,” he said.

Sara Troyer, a 2013 grad, said she enjoyed Irving’s enthusiasm and encouragement and said her peers felt the same way.

She said she originally planned on going to community college, but Irving helped change her mind.

“He told me all about Arizona State University and let me know about all the scholarships,” Troyer said. “He opened my eyes to more possibilities beyond community college.”

Troyer said she received ASU’s presidential scholarship and plans to attend the university as a business major.

“He teaches us tricks on scholarship applications to help get us noticed,” Troyer said.

Tia Yap, the 2013 senior class president, said Irving had been supportive since she started high school.

“Now I have my career goals in mind, I have my major in mind and I’m on my way to fulfilling my dreams and achieving my goals,” Yap said. “Mr. Irving helped me get there.”

Yap will attend Northern Arizona University to pursue a degree in public administration in hopes of one day starting her own nonprofit organization.

Irving said he remembered when Tia was a “goofy little freshman” and that his motivation comes from seeing students like Tia and Sara grow and achieve their goals.

Yap said the best advice Irving has given her is to not give up.

“It’s like that cheesy saying, ‘If you can dream it, you can achieve it,’” Yap said. “He has that mentality.”

***ADVERTISEMENT***Among his many projects as volunteer coordinator, Irving helps with Nissan’s A World of Motion program at the elementary schools, which is sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

“They come out and pay for sample kits where kids actually build a sample test car,” Irving said. “They design it and put weight on it to see how fast and straight it can go.”

He said he helps the engineers with the logistics of the program.

“The biggest satisfaction is to work with the younger kids and see them get excited about education,” Irving said. 

To volunteer in the district, visit MUSD20.org, search for “Quick Links” on the home page and scroll to “Volunteer Program.”