Josh Hagy
AHS Graduate Lands Dream Job; Says Education Is Invaluable
CLIFTON FORGE — Teaching at Mountain Gateway Community College and writing books are dreams come true for Alleghany High School alumnus Josh Hagy.
Hagy, a 2002 AHS honor graduate, took an interesting path to landing the job that he long dreamed of. He worked in the private sector for a surveying firm and as a reporter and editor for a local newspaper before becoming an English teacher at his alma mater high school, Alleghany, in 2014. His further dreams came true in 2023 when he was hired as an English instructor at Mountain Gateway.
“Both of those jobs taught me to work under pressure and for high stakes at a very early age,” Hagy said of his time at the Virginian Review newspaper and Vess Surveying.
Hagy had formally studied English when he arrived at Alleghany High School, but he had not yet spent time professionally as a teacher in the classroom.
”I was the oldest new teacher who came to Alleghany High School in 2014 by almost a decade, but I wasn’t too worried about it. Those jobs gave me the confidence to walk into a classroom without a single bit of teaching experience and do things the way I felt they should be done, to follow my students and let them tell me their stories and what they needed, and to serve them as best I could regardless of some of the traditional expectations of the field,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Hagy studied at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (now Mountain Gateway), where he received an associate’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2004. While attending the community college, he worked for the Virginian Review as a part-time reporter.
“Mark Pifer, who was the sports editor at the Virginian Review, interviewed me in Mrs. [Anita] Proffitt’s classroom for a sportswriter’s spot at the Virginian Review, and I talked them into keeping me on as I went to college. Everything that came about next happened because of that interview,” he said.
Hagy quickly learned that working for a small town newspaper generally brings added job duties. At the age of 18, he found himself covering local government meetings.
“I was extremely fortunate to work where and for whom I did in those years. I remember being 18 and covering a city council meeting with no clue of what to do. I asked Horton Beirne, who was the editor and publisher for advice, and he told me something I’ve never forgotten: ‘It’s simple. Your job is to show up and tell the truth about what you saw.’ Those words became the point on my compass I followed ever since,” he said.
He left the newspaper to take a job with Vess Surveying, where he served as a surveying technician.
“Working for Greg and Kathy at Vess Surveying was nothing less than a life lesson in how to be a good man,” Hagy said. “They taught me, by simply being who they are, what it means to carry your values into the workplace. It was a difficult time for all of us, personally and professionally, and they showed me the meaning of faith and perseverance and kindness. They taught me that it was a privilege for me to do what I do, and that privilege comes with responsibilities.”
Then, a twist in life led him back to the Virginian Review, where his goal of becoming a writer blossomed even more. He became the editor of the newspaper's “local page,” wrote feature stories, and reported on local government. It was while working full time for the paper he decided to enroll in an online program at Liberty University to earn a bachelor’s degree.
“Working at a daily newspaper was a masterclass in meeting deadlines and dealing with stress and writing. The newsroom and my colleagues shaped my life and had more of an impact than they realize. Almost everything I’ve done since has been easier because of my time there, and when I came into the classroom, I was able to teach a functional way of writing, not an academic one, and that set me apart,” he said.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Liberty in 2014, graduating magna cum laude, he headed to AHS that fall to teach English.
“All the success I had there, from my ‘HagyMonsters’ to the stage to yearbook to the classroom, was all because of my students. They deserve the credit,” Hagy said.
His passion for writing, which began to develop when he was a first grader at Sharon Elementary School, has led to his works appearing in several publications. Hagy is an alumnus of the Tinkers Mountain Writers Workshop at Hollins University. His works of poetry, essays, fiction, and non-fiction have appeared in Hominum Journal, Diet Milk Magazine, Metamorphosis Magazine, Wine Cellar Press, Coffin Bell Journal, and Poet’s Choice. Hagy’s newspaper column “Trust Your Story” appears regularly in The Recorder.
“I knew in the first grade I wanted to be a writer. I was in Mrs. [Margaret] Stapleton’s class and she had us write stories about going to the moon. I was hooked. I knew from the moment I wrote the last word on that giant green paper that I was going to write more,” Hagy said.
“A lot of my curiosity, my love of learning, comes from Sharon Elementary School. I had fantastic teachers who showed me how to enjoy learning for the sake of learning, and I still remember those lessons. When I got to high school, I found a home in Anita Proffitt’s yearbook class, which was a novel experience for someone who didn’t really fit in anywhere,” he said.
Married and living in the Clifton Forge area, Hagy has a daughter, Elliana Jo’Laine. She will turn one in August. His wife, the former Bethany Broughman, graduated from AHS in 2002. She works as a child and family therapist in residence with the Alleghany Highlands Community Services Board. He will soon begin his second year of teaching at Mountain Gateway.
“MGCC was the only place I ever wanted to teach,” Hagy said of his desire to be a professor and teach at the college level. “I knew that when I was a student there (it was DSLCC then). I remember having a meeting with my English professor, Glenn Anderson, and I left thinking how cool it would be to be a professor there with my own office. Teaching at the high school surprised me in a lot of ways. I hadn’t ever really planned on it. I still see myself as more of a writer who teaches than the other way around.”
He has sound advice for students who are now enrolled in public schools and planning for their futures.
“Show up, put in the work, and do what you love regardless of what anyone has to say about it. It’s the exact advice I gave my students in the classroom and on stage. There will always be someone trying to tell you who you are or who you should be. There will always be people trying to force your life into a shape they want it to be. None of them matter. They aren’t the ones who have to live your life. You are. Live it how you want to live it,” he said.
And, of course, he says students must make reading and writing a cornerstone of their education experience.
“Reading is thinking, pure and simple,” said Hagy, who received a master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University in August 2021. He graduated as a distinguished scholar with a degree in English and Creative Writing.
“Reading teaches us the power of story and imagination and of language, three of the very things that make us human. It keeps our minds young and open and shows us a world outside of ourselves. There is no more basic, nor more important, skill than reading. Language, story and imagination make us human,” he said.
From working for a newspaper, to teaching English at a high school and a community college, Hagy says his life experiences have taught him the value of a good education. He describes education as “a way of life that never ends.”
“Education is invaluable,” Hagy said. “It’s all about what we show these students an education is. They carry the entire knowledge of mankind in their pockets. They can Google anything. So, what should we be teaching them? We should be showing them how to think critically and for themselves. An education should be a string of constant questions that leads to possibilities as often as it does to answers. If you’re engaged in your education, you’ll learn how to meet deadlines, be punctual, communicate, all the soft skills that don’t show up on a resume, but you’ll be learning how to think.”
Looking back, Hagy realizes he set a destination while he was a first grader at Sharon Elementary School. He had set a goal and that goal gave him direction. He had defined his win in life, and education was a vital part of it every step of the way.
“I can look back at my life now and see how each step of my life prepared me for the next, though I had no idea at the time. It’s nothing less than the hand of God at work in my life. Teaching high school is so intense in so many ways that I often wondered what teaching was preparing me for until my daughter was born last year. I like to think that my years as a teacher will make me a better parent. And it’s been really gratifying to see how many of my former students have made a point to stay in touch and meet my daughter. It gives me hope that I got it right,” he said.
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