Meet The Person:

Nick Pompei. Technology Education Teacher at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

I have been teaching at H-H for eight years and this is my ninth year of teaching since graduating Millersville University back in 2006. Professionally, I really enjoy my job. I was fortunate enough to have two incredible teachers who got me interested in teaching, specifically Tech. Ed. It really has become exactly how I thought it would be. It’s a ton of fun, the kids are great and the school and community are awesome at H-H. It really is my second home.

I have also really enjoyed getting into photography. The black and white photography class I took at Millersville jump started my passion for taking pictures. And I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of college friends get married not long after I wanted to start taking pictures. So I got my feet wet early and it has really steamrolled from there. It has been an awesome venture for me and has led me into some awesome situations in my life. I have had some awesome clients and worked with some great people.

Personally, it’s all about family and friends for me. If I could hang out on my my patio with a good cold beer and my family, I would be perfectly content! I also really enjoy working out, competing in triathlons and anything to help stay in shape. I started doing triathlons back in 2007 and it has really been a love affair ever since. It’s taken the ‘normalcy’ out of working out and adding in a way to keep the workouts fresh. I have done dozens of tri’s with my big accomplishments being two half ironmans. I also ran my first marathon this past spring. That was without a doubt my greatest physical accomplishment yet. I really enjoyed training and running that race. I think I have the bug!

And I don’t have a beach house yet, but hopefully by the time I retire, I will have a sweet house along a coastline somewhere. That way Ashley, Cooper, the new kid and plenty of others can come down and enjoy themselves. You have to set goals right?! Even though it’s more of a dream at this point! 

Influence 52/52Nick Pompei

Influence: 

So I realize that putting myself as one of the most influential people in my life sounds extremely cocky. That’s not the point. The reason I am one of the most important people in my life is because, well, I am. You have just seen and read about 51 of the most influential people in my life. You have read their awesome stories and the way that they have impacted my life. Without them I would not be where I am today and that is a fact. But what is more concrete is the fact that if I wouldn’t have listened to them, met them, found them, had them, worked with them, loved them, etc. etc. etc. I wouldn’t be the person I am today. It’s almost philosophical in some ways. The way that everyone has impacted me has shaped me and made me into the person I am today and will be tomorrow. So while it’s my ugly mug you are looking at above, it’s really all of you and your impact that you should be looking at.

This project has been a lot more involved than I thought it was going to be. But it has been so incredibly rewarding. I wanted to give tributes to all of those people in my life but I also wanted to use this project as a reason to see people again. Some people I haven’t seen in years and this project was the perfect jumping block to see them, hang out and catch up. Life is busy. Crazy busy for everyone. And how many times do you say to yourself “man I really need to call so and so, I haven’t seen them in years.” But you just never do it because life gets in the way. Well this project helped me catch up with people even if it was just for a few minutes. It was great seeing everyone, seeing how life is going for them, what they are doing, etc. It really was a blast.

So I just want to thank everyone for their help in making this project happen. It took a lot of planning on your part to fit me into your schedule and make time for me. Not to mention you had to answer some questions and send them back to me - Nobody likes being given a writing assignment! And a big thank you to everyone who followed along every week. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I did. Obviously a lot of these people you don’t know but I hope their stories helped inspire you just a little bit as well.

There are so many other people who I could have included in this project. Really, I could have given you 100 or more people! But the 51 people you have seen over the last year just mean that much more to me. I hope you had fun reading and I hope that instead of making an excuse of being too busy to hang out or talk with someone special in your life, reach out. It doesn’t take long and life is just too damn short.

Thanks everyone!