After an almost year-long hiatus, security guard Kevon Phillips has made his way back to Krop. 

At the end of last school year, Phillips left in order to move up in the educational field and potentially become either a teacher or counselor. Due to some mistakes in paperwork, Philip landed back here, and he intends to stay at the school for the rest of the year.

Family connections motivated him to initially come to the school in 2021.

“I have a long line of family members that graduated from Krop,” Philips said. “I also had younger siblings who were in middle school and I wanted to be a part of molding them into who they’d become.”

 Phillips said he is open to potentially becoming a teacher at Krop, with the school’s kindness motivating his desire to stay long term.

“With all the kids and a lot of the staff, kindness is pretty much their M.O., and that’s what they carry,” Phillips said. “Most of the time around here, at least when I bump into them, they’re kind. That’s genuine and it’s something I like to be around.” 

Since returning, Phillips has said that he’s been received positively by students and staff.

“It’s heartwarming because, you know, everyone that’s been here as far as the staff as well as the students, they have been welcoming me back with open arms,” Phillips said. 

Coach Phillips’ return has also excited many students.

“It feels great to have Coach Phillips back, he always knows how to brighten my day by starting the day with great energy,” sophomore Layla Centeno said. 

Aside from his position as one of the Head Coaches for Track & Field and Spring Football, Phillips helps many sports with training, and he has worked on fostering unity between different sports teams throughout Krop, encouraging players to attend the games of other sport teams.

“To see other athletes who are not involved in your sport and are probably not familiar or interested in it, to be out there supporting you, it just gives you so much of an extra boost,” Phillips said. “And then to see these kids go from not speaking to each other in the halls to seeing them fist-bumping and sitting with each other at lunch, it’s beautiful.”