MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- When one reminisces about childhood memories of long school days and short recesses, days where they not only learned basic math and science, but also who they are as a person. Days in school are vital to many kids' development into a mature adult, and they can help give someone higher chances of success in the future. Many people can pinpoint a specific person who helped to mentor them and help them pave the way for success. For many of the students at Matthew C. Perry High School, Principal Latressa Renée Cobb is that person. Although she is departing Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, she has already cemented her place in being an influential figure in both the student’s and teacher’s lives by supervising, overseeing, and supporting the daily operations of the school even through very difficult times in the school’s tenure.
Growing up in North Carolina, Cobb lived in very humble conditions, as she was raised by a single mother. Her grandmother was very influential in her life and valued education very deeply, insisting that she also invest deeply in her own life to build a better future.
"My grandmother had nine children and of her nine children, over half of them have master's degrees, so she really instilled in her family the importance of having an education," Cobb said. "It was never like ‘are you going to go to college?’ it was more like ‘you're going to college’. Each generation wants the next generation to do better so I look at what she went through and what she was able to instill in her family and peers and I take that work ethic with me.”
As time moved forward, Cobb’s grandmother would continue to drive her to succeed in the field of education. After graduating from high school, Cobb attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics.
“I graduated high school and I had gotten a scholarship, which was a North Carolina teaching fellow scholarship,” Cobb said. “It is when you go to college, and you agree to teach in North Carolina for four years after you graduate. Not only was it a full ride to school, but it also gave me more experience and passion in the field of education.”
Her first teaching job was very challenging, but at the same time it proved to be extremely rewarding. The more she taught students, the more her desire to continue teaching grew. Overtime, she knew she made the right decision to be an educator.
“My passion is education, making a difference, and having a positive impact,” said Cobb. “Building those connections and making an impact on others to know that they're cared for, to know it's not just about academics, and to take care of kids socially, emotionally, mentally, everything.”
While Cobb was in North Carolina, she met her husband who was in the U.S. Navy and she accompanied him to different parts of the U.S., such as New York, Virginia, Maryland, and California. Eventually in 2011, her traveling would not just extend to different states, but also to Japan. Cobb and her family moved to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, in her first international move. A few years later in 2017, she would make her way down south to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to work as a Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) teacher at M.C. Perry Elementary School for a year and eventually becoming principal of M.C. Perry High School.
“I came here as a teacher at first and fortunately I was promoted to an assistant principal at M.C. Perry High School in 2017,” said Cobb. “In 2021 I was promoted to principal at Iwakuni Intermediate School and was there for a year and at the end of that year, I was asked to come back to M.C. Perry High School but as the principal. So, from 2021 until now I've been the principal at M.C. Perry High School.”
Cobb has been enthusiastic about her role as principal since she’s held the position. She wants to create a more fun and energetic environment for the students just like she wanted when she was younger.
“As a student, I always looked at how I wanted to be as a teacher or how I wanted to be treated by my principal, as a student.” Cobb said. “What kind of relationship would I have liked to have had with my principal? It made me strive to be not your typical principal. At the schools, we’ll incorporate fun things like ‘Feel Good Friday’ songs every Friday and I get my Bose speaker, play a song on the intercom and I let the kids make suggestions. After that you see kids dancing out the door at school on Fridays and having fun. It makes it where it's a place we love to work because we can laugh and joke and it's a place kids, family, and staff want to be in and that’s an amazing culture when you can create a place like that.”
Over the years that Cobb has been in Iwakuni, her impact has been instrumental in the functioning of the base’s educational institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, completely changed teaching and what school looked like for the entire world. As assistant principal of M.C. Perry H.S., at the time, she was one of the key figures who had to help decide what education was going to look like and how it would function.
“COVID was very hard for us, we knew that if the schools were to shut down that it would impact our whole mission, pattern, everything,” said Cobb. “If the schools are shut down and the kids aren't getting an education, our service members can't focus on their mission. Our job is to take care of the kids so they can focus on their mission. From March to June in 2020, we weren’t in school but in August of that year we were able to open right back up. That was one of the most amazing accomplishments I feel like we did here.”
As COVID became less of a problem for the schools, the more they started to increase their recreational activities, and Cobb was at the forefront as Principal of M.C. Perry High School. She has been going above and beyond for those under her and she points to a recent situation she handled in the athletics department where she would go out of her way for students in the high school.
“One of the great opportunities I had this year was I had the opportunity to actually help plan athletics for our whole district, so that's all six high schools in Japan,” Cobb said. “Actually, making sure the kids can play when those competitions occur, trying to make sure it's equitable for students, things like that, was outside of my job as a principal. I just want to make sure that our students have those equitable opportunities that they get to participate because when some kids leave, they're not going to remember all their systems of equations, but maybe they will remember that 12-hour bus ride they took to Zama to go play football or to play basketball and make new memories they can hold on to.”
Students and families continuously cycle in and out of school districts. However, as they leave and go to other schools or new chapters of their lives, they will always leave a little more prepared for the life ahead of them and a little wiser.
“I've watched our students go from 9th through 12th grade here and the transformation that you see is so amazing,” Cobb said. “When you see the 9th graders come in, and they're still just trying to find themselves and figure out who they are and by the 12th grade you see a totally different student. You just see the maturity that starts to develop, and you know that you've had a hand in helping them find their path in life. That's most important for me.”
Each one of those students will eventually reach a moment where it's time to walk across the stage and leave home or pack up their things and go to a new school because their family has new orders. This also applies to the faculty and just like her many of her students, Cobb is now on her way to a new adventure.
“My family and I are moving to Brussels, Belgium, and I'll be working for DoDEA Europe region,” Cobb said. “I'll actually be coaching and mentoring principals and district leaders, so it won't be in a school per se, but I'm excited because I get to see other principals doing their work!”
Although this chapter in her life has come to a close, the impact she has made, not only in the lives of the students she's taught, but also in the MCAS Iwakuni community as a whole, has been substantial and will be remembered for years to come.