By Sara Ballenger

Matt Komar is having a busy summer moving into his new office — the principal’s office at St. Nicholas School in Los Altos Hills.

Komar, a native of San Jose, was recently hired to replace principal Jim Realini at the start of this school year.

Even though Komar’s bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., is in business administration, being an educator is something he has always wanted to do.

“I tutored students and helped them with their homework while I was at Gonzaga,” Komar said. “My senior year, someone told me that I would make a great teacher.”

Komar graduated in 1990, during a recession, and had a difficult time finding a job in the business field. He decided to turn to teaching.

“In the Catholic school system, you can teach with a bachelor’s degree,” Komar said. “If you decide to stay, you can work on your credentials while you are teaching.”

He found his first teaching position at Five Wounds Portuguese National Church in East San Jose. He left soon after for a more lucrative job in the copier and fax industry.

“The financial rewards were much better, but it was not as exciting as teaching,” Komar said. “I decided to enroll in the teaching credential program at San Jose State University and I got my old job back at Five Wounds.”

In 1993, he took a job at St. Lucy Parish School in Campbell. Komar taught there for 10 years, concentrating on junior high school math, social studies and religion. He served as the vice principal of the K-8 school for four years.

While there, Komar completed a certificate in Catholic school leadership from Santa Clara University.

“The diocese of San Jose was encouraging more Catholic school leaders to become principals,” he said.

Komar heard about the opening at St. Nicholas from the diocese and applied. After an intense screening process, he was offered the position.

“This is a very similar school to St. Lucy’s. It is a very tightknit community,” Komar said of St. Nicholas. “The foundation of this school is great, they just need somebody to lead them.”

Komar is looking forward to getting to know his staff, students, the St. Nicholas community and the community at large.

“Any first-year principal needs to learn what’s best for the school, and you can’t do that until you get to know who your students are, you really understand your staff, the parents and community as well.”

Komar plans to be an accessible and visible figure on campus. He hopes to be on the schoolyard with the students playing basketball or throwing a football and out in the parking lot at the end of the school day with parents.

“If I can be visible and out there and someone has a question they can come up and ask me,” Komar said. “If I am in my office a lot, I can’t be doing my job very well.”

Komar will have longtime St. Nicholas teacher Kevin Kannengeiser as his vice principal.

“He is going to be a major asset for me,” Komar said. “He has such a strong sense about what the school is, what works and what doesn’t work.”

School starts Aug. 25, and Komar couldn’t be more excited.

“I am excited about being part of the community and getting to know as many people as possible, leading us to a successful year,” he said.