Portraits of a Division

“My passion has always been to help the youth stay on track and make good decisions,” Tim Hamlette, Albemarle High School’s newest Career Specialist, said. “I didn’t make the best decisions when I was a kid, so I want to help others avoid that.”

Tim’s other passion is baseball. Growing up, he had a natural talent for the game and played all the way through his senior year of high school, when he got injured. That was when everything changed.

“I had never really had to put in effort to be good at baseball. I was just good,” he said. “So when I got injured, I didn’t know how to work hard to get back into the game, and that just killed me.”

He didn’t know where to go from there, Tim said. Without baseball, he felt lost. So, he graduated high school and took some time off from academics to work on a farm and a retail store. Having to be present and accountable at a job helped him get back on track, he said, and after a few years in the workforce, he went back to school.

“I always wanted to go to college,” he said. “Once I got myself together and figured out what I wanted to do, I was the first person in my family to graduate from a four-year college.”

Tim graduated from Liberty University with a degree in sports management in 2013, and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies in 2015. From there, he worked in school safety with Lynchburg City Schools and Monticello High School before joining the ACPS Central Office in April 2022.

While working as an Office Associate in Central Office, Tim was also preparing to take the PRAXIS test to become a licensed teacher. It was tough, he said, to balance a full time job, family life and studying for the PRAXIS. But, he persevered and will be joining Albemarle High School this year as a Career Specialist.

“I was able to draw on my past experiences to really work hard to do well on the PRAXIS,” Tim said. “I want to be able to show students that it can be done because I’ve done it.”

In his role as a Career Specialist, Tim will connect students with local businesses and employers to create work-based learning opportunities. With knowledge of both the worlds of skilled trades and academics, Tim has plenty of experience to draw from to help students. This is the part of the job he’s most excited about, he said.

“I can’t wait to get out there and show the community what they’re getting from ACPS,” he said. “There are so many hardworking and willing students here.”

And, after going back to school, Tim felt ready to rejoin the world of baseball and for the past several years has spent his summer months coaching a summer baseball league team. There, he’s able to start his athletes off on the right path and instill in them the desire to work hard no matter what.

“Being with kids and helping them find their path is where my heart is,” he said.