At Hershey High School, the previous athletic directors have seemed invisible to the student body. Now, that has completely changed.

Until this year, most students at Hershey didn’t know who their athletic director was. Although ever since Scott Govern came to the school, he’s become the newest “cheerleader” of HHS. With fifteen years of experience of being an AD, Govern has managed to change the school for the better.

Govern made his decision to become an AD not only because he’s always had a love for athletics but also because of the benefits he got from it. By playing sports throughout high school and college, Govern went through trials and tribulations that ended up giving him memorable experiences to look back and reflect on.

“It’s something I love, and I can get paid for doing it, so why not,” Govern said.

Although when Govern came to HHS in December 2015, this school was the toughest to adapt to. At first, students wouldn’t give Govern a simple hello. It took until about this fall for students to finally feel comfortable approaching him.

However Govern doesn’t blame students for not being friendly and welcoming at first. After looking at the history of previous AD’s at HHS, Govern discovered that they not only have changed multiple times but they also didn’t establish a relationship or form any connection with the students.

With new athletic administrators coming in and out of the school, it was difficult for students to figure out who to trust. But when Govern began making appearances at every one of the school’s sporting events, it was clear that he was in it for the athletes. Despite seeming like such a small gesture, contributions like these have meant a lot to the students.

“This position is more than being a figurehead,” said Govern.

Now that Govern has been able to gain the trust of the student’s, his connection with them is by far his favorite part of being an AD at HHS. Simply being able to see the development and growth of the student athletes is just one of many aspects Govern truly loves.

In addition to watching the student athlete’s progress, Govern also loves seeing students have a positive experience during their high school career.

However Govern isn’t just in it to help the students now, he also assists them with the college recruitment process. With this, Govern is able to “open the door” for those hoping to play at the collegiate level.

In order to do so, Govern has students develop a resume. From here, he contacts the schools that the athletes are hoping to play at. Govern is not only able to get their name known at the school, but also teach them how to hopefully later talk to the coaches. He does this by helping them prepare what to say and think of questions to ask.

In addition to helping with the recruitment process, Govern also organized an all sports pass for athletes, in which they are able to get into home sporting events for free as a way to support one another.

Although none of this seems like extra work to Govern.

“To me, it’s what you should be doing and I enjoy that.” Govern said, “It doesn’t seem like effort.”

Although Govern was an athletic director at two previous schools, he had always admired Hershey’s strong programs, academics, good students and top notch facilities.

When Govern began working at HHS, he was impressed how students play two or three sports during the year, compared to other schools where students typically only play one.

In order to bring these athletes together, Govern planned an event called “Meet The Trojans”  where all fall sports teams performed a skit in front of one another to establish bonding and sportsmanship throughout the teams.

Because it was such a success, Govern plans on holding another “Meet The Trojans” event for the spring athletes.

As for more plans regarding upcoming seasons, Govern hopes to gain more trust within the student body in order to have students become more involved in boosting school spirit.

Because Govern is so passionate about his job, this goal shouldn’t be too hard.

“I love athletics and working with kids.” Govern said, “I hope it shows.”