Episode 101

Episode 101: Own Your Epic with Dr. Jay Dostal

Published on: 8th October, 2023

Dr. Jay Dostal has served as a high school principal in both Nebraska and Arkansas. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he received endorsements in English and Physical Education. He holds a Masters and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Nebraska. In 2013, he was named the Nebraska Association of Student Councils Principal of the Year, in 2016 was named the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) Principal of the Year, and in 2021 was named the Arkansas Association of Secondary School Principals (AASSP) Principal of the Year.

Dr. Dostal has presented at a variety of conferences on the topics of improving school culture, improving graduation rates, the value of career and technical education in today’s high schools, and leveraging the power of technology in school administration. His bride, Melanie, is a special education teacher and they have two children who remind them on a daily basis why the field of education is the noblest of professions with the greatest impact to change the world.

Dr. Dostal’s passion in life is to listen and share stories that enable others to find relevance and purpose. His #OwnYourEpic hashtag on Twitter provides regular encouragement to others to tell their stories and be proud of the person they are and who they can become. He believes that we alone need to travel our own paths, but along the way, we will meet a number of characters that will fill out our life story.

Connect with Jay on X (formerly Twitter) @jaydostal86

Check out Jay's blog: http://ownyourepic.blogspot.com/

Get Jay's book: #OwnYourEpic

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Book Darrin to speak at your school or conference contact us here

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About the Podcast

Leaning into Leadership
A Road to Awesome Podcast
We all want to see successes in both our personal and professional lives. Often, that requires strong leadership. In a time when leadership can be more challenging than ever, this podcast is dedicated to cultivating leaders by elevating the voices of leaders and promoting positivity. Join Dr. Darrin Peppard, lifelong educator and best-selling author, for this mixed platform podcast (some solo, some guest interview) for inspiration and insight, and some great leadership stories from those are living it, excelling at it, and celebrating it. Together, let's lean into leadership.

About your host

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Darrin Peppard

Darrin Peppard is an author, publisher, speaker, and consultant focused on what matters most in leadership and education. Darrin is an expert in school culture and climate, as well as coaching and growing emerging leaders, and is the author of the best selling book Road to Awesome: Empower, Lead, Change the Game.

Darrin was named the 2016 Wyoming Secondary School Principal of the Year by WASSP/NASSP and was the 2015 Jostens Renaissance Educator of the Year. In 2017, Darrin earned his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming. Darrin was inducted into the Jostens Renaissance Hall of Fame in 2019.

Darrin now shares his experiences from over 25 years in education, specifically those learned as an education leader during the past 13 years. As a ‘recovering’ high school principal, Darrin shares lessons learned and effective strategies from over 25 years in public education to help leaders (both adults and students) to become more effective and positively impact the world around them. Connect with Darrin at roadtoawesome.net