Shedding light on Mr. Musto’s world of sports, books, and more
LeAnn Liu
Staff Writer
There is a man who arrives at American at 6:30 every morning, stays until 5:30 in the evening, and has dedicated 11 hours a day, each day, for the past 3 years, but is scarcely acknowledged by the AHS community.
“Hardworking” was the word that Ms. Melsby, an assistant principal, used to describe Mr. Musto. “He is here on the weekends. He is here in the evenings. His dedication to the work, to the school is absolutely unmatched.”
Although he upholds and enforces high standards at American, Mr. Musto has had his own share of troublemaking back in his high school days.
“I had a paper that I was writing [and] … there was a magazine article that was related to it. I was going to use it in my paper [but] the librarian… said I couldn’t check it out because it was not available for checkout,” he recalled. “I took it… I got a big detention and I had to write an essay on why it was not appropriate to take from the library.”
This serves to show that even the best of us make mistakes.
“Looking back I was like, no, I totally deserved it,” said Mr. Musto.
Rebellion and reading go hand-in-hand for Mr. Musto. While studying abroad, he came upon a book, Ulysses by James Joyce, which had a character, Stephen Dedalus, who spoke to him deeply as a teenager because of the “fighting against conformity in the system.,” as Mr. Musto said.
“So of course I went into school administration,” he stated, laughing.
So, what really led him to work in education?
“Seeing value in what you do everyday. As much as students can drive all adults crazy, when we see you succeed, there is a lot of inherent goodness you feel. I feel like, if I played a part in that, then I’ve done something well,” answered Mr. Musto.
Since he has started working at American, there have been noticeable changes.
“I’ve noticed fewer … conflict[s] between students, fewer fights.” Mr. Iglesias said. “For a couple years, … there seemed to be fights at both the beginning and end of the year especially.”
He attributed this changed energy to the clarity of the Mr. Musto’s communication.
“I really enjoy our administrative team because of the tone that he sets for our team,” stated Ms. Barrington, an assistant principal.
In addition, the principal has succeeded in getting new buildings and signage at the school, and he is currently working toward getting more lights for when the school is dark at night.
“When he realizes the path that he should take, or try to take, he is determined to see it happen.” Mr. Reibenschuh, an assistant principal, said.
While he may be making many important decisions, he is not as distant from students as he may seem.
After living in the Bay Area for 16 years, he likes to say, “I hella know slang,” which includes, but is not limited to “nickel dime” and “hyphe.”
So the next time you see Mr. Musto, do not be intimidated to talk to him— he knows our language well. Although he is the man preventing you from crossing the street at lunchtime, he truly cares about each and every Eagle.
“Sometimes my job requires me to be the ‘bad guy,’ but I do care about all the students, and I hope everyone comes to school and is able to find something they love about American High School everyday.”
Eagle Era 