Real Story: Marc Pirner

Marc Pirner

CSM Class of 2008, General Studies

• Doctoral student in leadership in education, Notre Dame of Maryland University
• Master of Arts in Teaching, Secondary Education, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (cum laude)
• Bachelor of Arts in History, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (cum laude)
• Leader of Excellence Nominee, St. Mary’s County Public Schools
• Safety Team of the Year Award, Maryland Center for School Safety

I am currently starting my sixth year as a high school principal for St. Mary’s County Public Schools. The 2025-26 academic year will be my first as principal of the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, after serving as principal of Chopticon High School for five years.

I am the only person in my immediate family to go to college. Education has enabled me to climb the ladder academically, professionally, and socially to be a leader in my community. 

I grew up in Calvert County in a working-class home. My father was an auto mechanic, and my mother was initially a stay-at-home mom and then a massage therapist. I attended Calvert County public schools and graduated from Northern High School.

In high school, I got into a fair amount of trouble and did not prioritize my education. People who knew me from those years are generally surprised when they find out I became a teacher and have a hard time believing I became a principal. 

After high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I started a two-year associate degree program in general education at CSM. That way I could begin to build a base for my education while I figured out what direction I wanted to go. The flexibility and convenience of CSM enabled me to work—delivering pizza—to pay my way through that initial associate degree.

At this point in my life, I have an associate degree in general studies, a bachelor’s in history, and a master’s in teaching. Through all of that, some of my most helpful professors were at CSM. I had an excellent literature and writing professor, Dr. Victoria Clements, who not only taught me to read and write at the college level, but also saw my potential as a future teacher and encouraged me to further my education to be a teacher. I also had an excellent history professor, Dr. Chretien Guidry, who taught history in an engaging way, which had an impact on my wanting to be a social studies teacher. 

Especially during those early years, while working on my associate degree, the professors at CSM helped to bridge the gap from high school to college in a way that set me up for future success. While their content knowledge and teaching skills were helpful, the human connection and the push for students to maximize their potential was especially impactful. I remember sitting in Dr. Clements’ office when she was making phone calls to advisors at CSM and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, directly setting me up to apply to SMCM. She even gave me feedback on my college application letter. CSM was a bridge, a steppingstone, a scaffolding that set the foundation for my future success in education. 

My education not only opened doors for me professionally, it enabled me to think critically about the world around me rather than reacting emotionally from moment to moment.

It has also shaped me into a lifelong learner. I often say that if I ever won the lottery—never mind that I don’t play the lottery—I would become a college student for life, just taking classes for the learning. After earning my associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees, I’m beginning a doctoral program in leadership in education in Fall 2025.

My education has made me a better educator myself. I’m better able to teach as a teacher and lead as a leader. Ultimately, education has enabled me to have a profoundly deeper and farther-reaching impact on those around me than if I hadn’t continued my education.

The advice I would give to my former self or to an incoming CSM student:

• You get out of your education what you put into it, whether you’re a community college freshman or a Ph.D. candidate. You can skate through with minimal effort, or you can truly dedicate yourself to critical thinking. Both approaches could lead to a degree, but only one will lead to meaningful learning.
• Attendance and work ethic are almost always more important than intelligence.
• It's going to be difficult. There’s no way around it: College and life are both going to be hard work. Embrace the challenges. Lean into the difficulty. Adopt a mindset of gratitude, even for the struggles you face.
• You can’t always control your circumstances, but you always control how you respond. Learning and genuinely applying this lesson will bring you more success and more happiness than anything you learn in any college class. 
• Be respectful to every person you encounter but be skeptical of everything they tell you. 
• Make final determinations based on evidence, not emotion.

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Last updated: 7-24-25