CVU’s new activities director hits the ground running

New CVU Activities Director Ricky McCollum (Observer photo by Al Frey)

Ricky McCollum is bringing years of experience from every level of student athletics to his new role at Champlain Valley Union High School.

McCollum was chosen to oversee CVU’s co-curriculars by a hiring team that consisted of students, teachers, staff, coaches and community members. His commitment to ensuring that students always feel a sense of belonging and allowing them to develop life-long healthy habits is what makes McCollum the right fit for the job, according to CVU principal Adam Bunting.

“The hiring pool for the CVU activities director was as competitive as I can remember,” Bunting said. “Many, many excellent educators applied.

Ricky is doing fantastic so far,” he added.

From April through August, outgoing Activities Director Dan Shepardson has taught McCollum the ropes. McCollum said he couldn’t ask for a better mentor.

“Dan and I have a great relationship,” he said, “I shadowed him as much as I could.”

McCollum wants to honor Shepardson’s philosophy and methodology, but he also has new ideas to introduce.

“It’s important to continue to build upon the legacy that came before,” he said.

McCollum was himself a student-athlete when he started on the path to his current administrative position. He was All-State in basketball, football and track and field at Washingtonville High School in upstate New York.

After graduating, McCollum accepted a Division I football scholarship from the University of Connecticut, where he played for four years while obtaining a bachelor’s degree in human development.

He went on to receive a master’s in counseling from Pace University and met his partner along the way. Until this year, she had lived in Vermont with their son while McCollum lived in New York.

When the Covid pandemic hit, McCollum was working in Queens as the coach of the Vaughn College men’s basketball team and as one of the school’s athletic directors. But he wanted to find a job closer to his family.

Often he would trek to Vermont to work remotely while spending time with his family, and on those trips he’d go running through the countryside. One such run took him through Hinesburg, he said, and he immediately fell in love with Redhawk nation.

“I saw kids outside with masks on, socially distanced and playing outdoor volleyball, and I saw the signs on parents’ lawns,” he said. “And I thought, ‘The atmosphere at this school must be amazing.’”

He added: “I thought, if I could somehow find a way to help out at CVU or even be the activities director there, it would be like a dream come true.”

Sure enough, the position opened up, and McCollum applied as someone from out-of-state with ties to Vermont.

McCollum joined the Vermont Air National Guard reserves in 2020 and works weekends in support services as a fitness and wellness coach for the airmen.

“Whether it’s helping them with diet, dietary health, nutritional goals, fitness goals, workout plans, or teaching wellness, my goal is to alleviate outside stress and help them succeed,” he said.

Now that he’s settled at CVU, McCollum wants to work closely with students, parents, instructors and coaches to provide a positive high school experience and prepare students for college and beyond.

“Having knowledge of the entire student-athlete spectrum, and on the college administrative level, I feel like I can work from all different angles to help the (CVU) community,” he said.

When he was in high school, McCollum participated in chorus, band and the chess club and said he understands how hard it can be to balance studies with sports and other extracurriculars.

“I know there’s a lot that everyone involved in co-curriculars is dealing with, and (my experience) helps me see the whole situation from all views,” he said.

McCollum acknowledges that managing all co-curricular calendars and supervising staff and coaches is not easily handled by one person, so he was grateful to work with Bunting in hiring Assistant Activities Director Chris Shackett.

“Chris has been awesome and we’re tackling this together,” McCollum said.

McCollum is happy to do his part as a Redhawk and hopes his son will also become one someday.

“It will be a great environment and a great atmosphere in which to raise my kids,” he said.