By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald

St. Joseph alumnus named new principal

RICE LAKE -- Prior to the first bell ringing at St. Joseph School in Rice Lake, teachers were busy putting new messages on bulletin boards, while custodial staff laid down new coats of wax on floors in the building. There was also a different face in the principal's office.

Although Josh Tomesh was recently appointed principal of St. Joseph School, he is no stranger to it. Tomesh completed his elementary and junior high education here, in 1989.

Tomesh said that the caring examples of his former teachers at the Rice Lake parochial school were a factor in his career decision. "They are just great people," Tomesh said. "I think that is part of what brought me into education."

Praising the values instilled in him with his early Catholic education Tomesh said, "They are things that really kind of mold you as a person."

Following graduation from Rice Lake High School, Tomesh went on to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. "I had some early aspirations in the science or medical field," he said.

Tomesh said he was introduced to playing sports at St. Joseph School, and continued with athletics at Rice Lake High School. "In college I had the opportunity to coach wrestling," he said. "I really loved this experience and it also helped me decide to go into education."

Tomesh earned a bachelor's degree in biology, with a teaching certificate, from UW-Eau Claire, in 1998. Following graduation and marriage to the former Sarah Berkseth of Rice Lake, the couple relocated near La Crosse, Wis. "I was hired as a science teacher in Sparta, at Sparta (Wis.) Public High School," he said. " I taught there for six years. I also coached varsity football and wrestling."

To help qualify for a principal position, Tomesh earned a master's degree in education, with an emphasis in professional development, from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, in 2002. "I continued teaching after I got that," he said. "I decided that educational leadership (being a principal) was something that I wanted to do."

Tomesh is finishing additional certification classes at Viterbo University in La Crosse.

The births of two sons, Tyson and Carson, Tomesh said, were another reason he and his wife desired to move closer to home. "Our parents still live in this area," he said.

Tomesh said he was "super excited" to have the opportunity to continue his career at a place that not only helped lay the foundation for his own education, but was a guidepost in his own personal Catholic faith development. "Your relationship with God is a foundation of who you are as a person," he said. "This is important to the parents, children and the community here. I am really excited about the opportunity to be back home."

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