hastings-stu

My name is Stu Hastings and I have been teaching in the Orange district since 1975.  I spent 12 years at Portola and I have been at El Rancho since 1988.  I feel very fortunate to be a part of a fantastic school and to work with a great group of teachers and administrators.  I feel El Rancho provides students a wonderful learning environment that helps prepare them for the future.  I feel privileged to play a small part in their development.
I was born and raised in California and spent my early in Whittier.  My family moved to Berkeley when I was six years old where my father was athletic director at UC Berkeley and general manager for the Oakland Raiders in the early 1960’s.  Growing up in that environment was unbelievable, being able to go to all the Cal football and basketball games as well as the Raider games.  My dad would take me into the locker room after the games so I got to know some of the players.  In 1963 we moved back to Whittier after my dad decided to leave the Raiders and work for a friend  in the traffic signal business.  I went to middle and high school in Whittier where I played basketball, football and golf.  For college, my whole family went to Cal Berkeley, so I wanted to be different and attended Oregon State University in Corvallis,Oregon.  It is really a beautiful campus and was a great adventure going away to school at the age of 18 and trying to live on my own for the first time.  I made the freshman basketball team and joined a fraternity and had a great year.  But for financial reasons I transferred to UCLA for the remaining years of my undergraduate studies.  While at school there I worked at various jobs to help pay my expenses.  One of my jobs was teaching PE and coaching at a private catholic school in Santa Monica.  That is where I got a taste of teaching and eventually worked to get my teaching credential at UC Irvine after graduating from UCLA.  When I was doing my student teaching in Dana Point, I also coached volleyball and basketball for some extra money.  But I really found that I enjoyed working with kids and that led to my job as a teacher.
I was married for over 10 years before we divorced.  It was sad that it did not work out but we were lucky to have 4 wonderful children who are all doing really well today.  My oldest son graduated from Cal State Fullerton and is doing well in business.  My daughter graduated from San Diego State and is an elementary teacher in San Diego.  My two younger sons are still in college, one at San Diego State and the other is at UCLA, who also plays on the volleyball team.  So I am very greatful and proud of each of them.
When I retire from teaching, I will continue to work and try to continue my father’s business in real estate.  I welcome a new challenge and look forward to a new chapter in my life.  But I will always enjoy my years in teaching trying each to make a difference in the lives of our young students.