After working at Port Barre Elementary school for 27 years, Joseph “Gabe” Sonnier has went from the school janitor to the school principal.
According to the Huffington Post, Sonnier has had a few rough patches throughout his life. Because of financial reasons, he had to drop out of Southern University and find work to help his mother support his four siblings.
He was able to later return to school and earn a master’s degree in education at Arkansas State University. In 2008, Sonnier went from janitor to teacher.
Principal at the time, Westley Jones pulled the smiling janitor to the side and Sonnier can remember him saying, "I’d rather see you grading papers than picking them up.”
Sonnier was promoted to Port Barre Elementary school’s principal last November.
CBS News noted that Mr. Sonnier mentioned that wouldn’t mind someday having the position as the school’s superintendent.
Principal Sonnier is still in shock of all that has happened to him but he sticks to these inspiring words: "Don't let your situation that you're in now define what you're going to become later," Mr. Sonnier said. "I always tell them it's not where you start, it's how you finish."