Scott Banister

My greatest hero is my Television Productions teacher, Mr. Scott Banister. No one else I have ever met has had such a positive influence on my life and how I look at each new day. He is the "go-to man" for anything techincal in the entire school district. For me...he's the go-to man for everything. Anything I need help with, any situation--he's always there.

In college, he was an Accounting and Law Major and was pretty sure that's what he wanted to do, until his Junior Year. In his third year of college he met his future wife, who was an education major and also the daughter of a Sociology professor. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by people all involved in teaching. He decided to take a Public Speaking course, and soon found a passion for teaching. He was still interested in Business, but he did not feel at all excited about venturing into a career that would invlove climbing the corporate ladder. He feels as though he was to "independent-minded" to be stuck in a job where it's the same thing everyday--so, he began taking Education courses. He started his career working at another school teaching basic Business courses, such as Management, Law, and Accounting. After eleven years, he was layed-off, along with 43 other teachers. Soon thereafter, he began working at another school, also teaching basic Business courses, but he decided to leave after two years. After teaching for quite sometime, he wanted to explore his other options, and went into business for himself, designing and constructing custom high-end cabinetry. The only thing he did not like about this job is that he was working nearly 24 hours a day, and did not have time to focus on any of his other interests. A few years before going into business for himself, he had interviewed with another school and was offered a job, but had turned it down, and, now, had just received a call letting him know that there was another opening. Before making his decision, he looked at other schools in the area for job openings, and he ultimately decided to teach at our school, PV. He started his teaching career at PV in 1983, teaching Advanced Accounting and Law. In 1985, the first computers were introduced to the school--15 IBMs. The teachers all looked to him when it came to learning how to use this "new found technology." He says that he "got stuck" having to learn to use them, but in the long run, he has no regrets. He began learning basic operations, and created the school's first, and at that time, only, computer course. After a few years, more computer courses were established, and he was teaching them all. In 1995, he was appointed the Technical Director for the entire school district. He was a major part in building the district's whole computer network from the ground up. After the great success of the computer courses, the district decided to create Television courses. He helped to design the T.V. studios in each of the schools, as well as get them up and running. Even with all that he had accomplished, he felt like he was "out of the creative process," and he didn't like spending 24 hours a day "pushing data." Once again, he found himself without enough time to focus on his other loves and interests: music, woodwork, and writing. He decided that teaching Television courses would at least allow him to work with music and writing within the job itself, as well as provide him with more time to work with his other interests. He admits that when he first went into T.V., he knew nothing at all. He says he enjoys the creative process, working with imaginative people , and he loves coming to work everyday.

Scott Banister grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He now lives on a farm in Worcester Township here in PA.

He was born in 1948, and is, of course, still living.

"The 'old me' would have done that work at 11:59 Tuesday night--the 'new me' would work on it and make gradual progress throughout the week." This single sentence stated by Mr. Banister, is why I now work on projects throughout the week, a little bit at a time, and not all at once the night before it's due. I can't even begin to explain how much of an impact this man has had on my life. I first met him two and-a-half years ago, when I walked into the TV Studio looking to be an anchor on our daily morning school new show, PvTv. He welcomed me into the homeroom, and showed me my way around the studio. I started with anchoring, then he taught me how to work cameras, then sound, teleprompter, then the hardest and most important piece of technical equipment of all--the switcher. I picked it up in no time, and soon enough, I was running most of each day's broadcast. Without his continuing guidance and support, I would not be the Director and Producer of the show now, and I would have never discovered my true love and greatest interest--FILM. Aside from helping me to find the love of my life, he had also aided me in becoming a better person. He has taught me humility, how to stay relaxed in stressful situations, how to not care so much about little things, how to share my extensive knowledge of television broadcasting and filming with others, and just how to be an all around great person. Most High School Seniors cannot wait to leave high school and venture off into the real world, but I cannot even begin to imagine my next year--not waking up and going into school to work side-by-side with my hero each and every day. I can honestly say that he will be the thing I will miss most about high school.