SunDevils are known for their duck calls, making friends wherever they go, and playing guitars….well, maybe not all SunDevils, but definitely one of our most beloved: Student Activities Coordinator Mr. Mark Harrison. 

Harrison was born and raised in Florida’s state capital, Tallahassee with his four siblings. His father, a physician, and mother, a church musician, brought him up with an understanding of the importance of family. 

Forty-One years ago, after majoring in physical education in college, Harrison took a job as a coach and physical education teacher in a small town in South Carolina for two years. He left to pursue graduate school at Slippery Rock University. While a full time student there, he was also a coach and a teacher. After this, he became a basketball coach and physical education teacher at Cape Henry Collegiate. After seven years of teaching, Harrison became The Student Activities Coordinator for Plaza Junior High School for three years. In 1992, he began his career as our Student Activities Coordinator and he’s been here ever since. 

“Both my wife and I come from large families,” said Harrison. “I have had to sacrifice time at a lot of family events, there’s been a lot I just couldn’t get to, because of work. With my retirement, I want to go to every single wedding, all the reunions, I want to play guitar, and go fishing. And I have an eight year old grandson named Harrison. I’ve missed so much time with him already and he’s so important to me. I just want more time with him.”

Though Harrison has had to sacrifice time with his three children, his wife and his grandbaby, he has created another family on SunDevil Drive. Walking down the hallway, whether it’s throwing whatever plush ball he can get his hands on to students or hugging whoever he sees, Harrison made it a priority to be a friendly face. 

“I truly feel like Mr. Harrison is the ambassador of Salem,” said School Improvement Specialist Amy Schuiteboer. “Everybody knows him, and he knows everybody. There are so many students here, and he can pick one out of a crowd and he astonishingly knows everything about them and what they do. He’s kind of the school’s uncle. You can tell that when he walks in every morning, his heart is here and he lays it all out on the table. When he leaves, we aren’t just losing our Activities Coordinator. We lose the teller of all tales. It’s honestly like losing a piece of our hearts. We’re going to struggle without him, but I feel he’s going to struggle more when he leaves.”

Just because Harrison is retiring doesn’t mean that he’s going to sit on the couch all day and watch football. 

“I always want to  get better,” said Harrison. “Because I’m retiring, it doesn’t mean my life is ending. Of course this has been a large chapter, most of my life, honestly, but I’m not done. I can always get better. I can always see more and be a better man, better husband, and dad.”

With the retirement of Mark Harrison after 29 years, many wonder what Salem will be like without him. Administration jokes that the flagpole will fall, as Harrison always reassures staff members that it is standing before an event, picking fun that he is there first. Maybe it’s the notorious ball that he threw to students prior to COVID. On behalf of all SunDevils, thank you for the laughs, the songs, all of the nicknames, and all of your smiles. One thing is for certain, you will be missed, Mr. Harrison.