Pacifica Stories

Wally Hirsch has been the Associate Head of School for Student Affairs at Pacifica for five years now, overseeing everything outside of academics from athletics to student life to the arts and more. While working in a high school setting wasn’t always his plan, Mr. Hirsch has loved working with young adults since the start of his professional journey. He began serving high schoolers through Young Life, a Christian ministry that focuses on forming relationships with students. Through this ministry, Mr. Hirsch discovered that he wanted to become more equipped to support students and their families. 

“I went back to school to become a therapist not with the direct intention of becoming a clinician, but with the desire to get more tools in my tool belt to help kids and families.”

One of Mr. Hirsch’s biggest takeaways from his time in grad school was that in a therapy setting, people will improve more if they can connect with their therapist on a human level. He translates this to a school environment, and operates in his job with the belief that kids connecting with adults fosters growth and stability. The relational community that our school fosters is Mr. Hirsch’s favorite part of working at Pacifica. He says that he loves “seeing students grow in their time here and launch as young adults.” His joy for students is evident in Mr. Hirsch’s presence on campus– his willingness to stop and chat with students in the hallways, his passion for executing student life events well, and his contagious school spirit.

Pacifica’s Christian mission is also important to Mr. Hirsch. He grew up as a ‘Christian Kid,’ but didn’t know what it really meant to follow Christ until he met Jesus through Young Life. He remained involved in this organization for several years in different capacities, serving as a volunteer leader, staff person, and committee member at different points in time. Mr. Hirsch says that Young Life pointed him towards Christ to where he is still growing today, and is now part of a healthy and vibrant church community. This deeper meaning to life and bigger picture of purpose is something Mr. Hirsch hopes students will understand as they graduate from Pacifica.

“I hope that they would know their worth is found in something beyond simply the grades they earn or the number of followers they have on a social media account.” 

Mr. Hirsch grew up outside of Los Angeles, but says that the westside is truly his home. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading the newspaper, and spending time with his daughter Zoey.