Financial History Issue 114 (Summer 2015) | Page 9

MUSEUM NEWS  

THE TICKER

Museum Spotlight: Claude Pompilus, Security Guard
A high school graduation is a big event
for any student, but even more so when it
is 20 years in the making. Claude Pompilus, security guard at the Museum since
2011, received his HSE (formally known as
a GED) on June 25. Claude’s graduation
also marked his completion of a college
prep program, as he plans to attend college
to pursue a degree in education.
“I would love to teach middle school or
high school,” Claude said. “I have a soft
spot for teachers because they have to deal
with the personal aspects of life that kids
bring into the classroom.”
The personal challenges that many students face while pursuing their education
are near and dear to Claude’s heart. As
a student athlete who loved school and
played football, he had to make the difficult decision to leave high school at the
age of 16 to begin working to support himself and his three younger siblings when

his mother became too ill to work. He
became an iron worker and welder, working for a company that made such items as
security doors and window guards.
Over the years, Claude worked as a
school bus driver and tutored child ɕ