Thirty years ago, Kevin Oligschlaeger was a graduate at Wellsville-Middletown.

Now, he’s back as the junior high/high school principal and athletic director. He officially started his duties on July 5 after spending the last five years at Bowling Green.

“It’s interesting coming back to the place I graduated from, for sure,” Oligschlaeger said. “It should be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

The 48-year-old Oligschlaeger replaced Jessie Cobb, who took an assistant principal job at Montgomery County High School. Cobb, who served as W-M junior high/high school principal and athletic director for six years, replaced Richele Falloon, who is now the W-M superintendent.

Originally, Oligschlaeger was planning on taking over assistant principal duties at MCHS before he found out there was an opening for principal/athletic director at W-M.

“I signed to go to Montgomery,” Oligschlaeger said. “Even though I didn’t work there a day, I still had to get out of that (contract).”

By being junior high/high school principal, Oligschlaeger will be responsible for students grades 6-12. His son, Leo, will be a seventh-grade student this fall.

“I just really want to make sure that our students can achieve everything they want,” Oligschlaeger said. “I look at myself as a facilitator for student goals and teacher goals and make sure they are supported.”

Oligschlaeger will take over a successful athletic program at W-M. In the last two years, the school had district championships in boys basketball and boys track and top-four state finishes in boys cross country and boys basketball.

“I just want to make sure the program has everything they need and make sure I don’t mess it up,” said Oligschlaeger, who once worked as a three-sport coach in Albany R-III High School.

Oligschlaeger has an 11-year career in education. He has Master’s degrees in educational leadership and business administration.

“I just love to continually learn,” Oligschlaeger said. “I believe it’s a continuous process. It’s like my dad said, ‘When you stop learning, you start dying.’ He’s 84, so I figured he knows something.”

Oligschlaeger graduated from W-M in 1993. He played baseball, basketball and track at the school. The new principal/athletic director said not a whole lot has changed since he graduated there 30 years ago.

“There is a lot of it that is the same,” Oligschlaeger said. “The building is the same. It looks the same. But yet, it’s a whole new world. We didn’t have computers in the classroom. If we’re going to do something with the computer, we would go down to the library or something like that.”

Oligschlaeger was officially hired as W-M principal/athletic director at a board meeting on June 29. He said he is looking forward to the first day of school on Aug. 22.

‘I’m nervous about it, but it’s good to be nervous,” Oligschlaeger said. “I’m excited to meet all of the kids and get them here. It’s exciting for me, but it’s kind of scary.”

Oligschlaeger worked as a high school science teacher at Bowling Green before heading back to his alma mater.

“I was also a new teacher mentor there,” Oligschlaeger said. “I was able to evaluate and help teachers. I have experience with kid interaction. I’m good with kids and good with people. I look forward to using those same skills here.”