Published: July 27, 2007 03:39 pm      

Reaching for the stars

New Konawa superintendent has remained ‘grounded’ during impressive career

By LEO KELLEY

Staff Writer



KONAWA — At an age when most 11-year-olds are concerned with only homework and chores, Dr. Don Sjoberg realized early which career was on his horizon.

“When I was in the fifth grade, one of my responsibilities was to help my brothers and sisters with their homework,” he recalled four decades later. “I really enjoyed working with them, and some of my classmates also asked me to help. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to become a teacher. It was very satisfying to help others succeed. It still is.”

Sjoberg, who agreed to a one-year contract, took over July 1 as superintendent of Konawa School District. He had been superintendent of Mulhall-Orlando schools since 2002.

“I am very excited by the challenge of leading the Konawa School District,” he said Monday in between meetings as preparations continue for the first day of classes on Aug. 16. “The job has been everything I’d imagined. Konawa is a great community of people who really care about their school. I expected to find a school that was in a healthy financial situation, and I haven’t been disappointed.”

Sjoberg (pronounced Shoberg) is proud of his Swedish heritage.

How did he get here from there?

During the 1800s, economic and social changes were occurring in the Scandinavian country. As Sweden’s population exploded, food shortages rose and job opportunities shrank. That’s why more than 450,000 Swedes immigrated to the United States during the two decades immediately following the end of the Civil War.

Some of the immigrants made their way to Indian Territory and later participated in the Land Run of 1889, which opened Oklahoma Territory to non-Indian settlement. In fact, residents in a small community near Laverne — located in present northwestern Oklahoma — named their new home Stockholm in honor of their former homeland’s capital and largest city.

Sjoberg’s route to Oklahoma had twists and turns

Don Sjoberg’s migration to Oklahoma can be traced back to his grandfather, who lived in the Malmo area on Sweden’s southern tip next to the Baltic Sea.

His grandfather, trained as a carpenter, was only 14 years old when sailed alone in 1911 to a Scandinavian settlement in northern Maine called New Sweden.

There, he married and the couple had a son Ernest, who became a Baptist minister. Ernest and Elma Sjoberg in turn became parents of Don in 1956.

“Since my father was a Baptist minister, we made a few moves,” the 51-year-old educator recalled. “We lived in Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and California. But I guess you could say I was raised in Maine.”

He graduated from Richmond High School, where he starred in athletics and excelled in the classroom. After a year at a small college in Vermont — where he also played basketball — Sjoberg made a decision to attend Oral Roberts University in Tulsa — a decision he has never regretted.

“Some of my friends asked if I was sure if I knew what I was doing by attending ORU because the university had only been in existence for a few years,” he said. “Some worried the school wouldn’t earn accreditation. But I knew I had made the right decision as soon as I arrived in Oklahoma. The culture here is much more accepting, much more friendly. And Oral Roberts was a university that has always had a real commitment to being a religious center.”

Career is music to his career

Sjoberg’s parents had instilled the love for music, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in music at ORU in 1979, and the following year he added a master’s degree (Music in Conducting) at the University of Texas in Austin. His teaching career began in 1981 at Henryetta, where one of the students just happened to be future Hall of Fame professional football quarterback Troy Aikman.

His first taste of administration came in 1985 when he was named high school principal at Kellyville. Six years later he took the same position at Ponca City.

Sjoberg earned another master’s degree (education administration) from Northeastern State University and a doctor’s degree in educational administration in 1991 at Oklahoma State University.

Along the way he married Connie, who is in charge of leadership studies at ORU. They have a 13-year-old son, Nathan.

Members of the Church of the Nazarene in Tulsa, the Sjobergs completed a mission trip to establish a church in Guatemala in 2001.

“It was a tremendous experience for our family,” Don said. “It really opened our eyes to the needs in some other parts of the world. It was a tremendous opportunity to experience another culture. It had a deep impact on us. When we arrived, we were greeted by children who had lost their legs or had suffered some other horrendous injuries. It made us realize just how fortunate we are.”

Like his grandfather who crossed an ocean solo looking for a better life a few years after Oklahoma became a state, Don Sjoberg has inherited that sense of adventure, one that has led to pilot training.

“My father had always wanted to be a pilot,” he said. “I’m not saying that being a superintendent isn’t challenging, but becoming a pilot was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. I credit a Church of the Nazarene missionary, a pilot who visited our church in Kansas (his career includes stops at Kansas City, Mo. and Arkansas, Kan.), for motivating me to do it.”

Setting the bar high

While Sjoberg’s accomplishments are impressive, he’s always setting his goals a little higher.

“I’m so fortunate and grateful for everything,” he said. “But there’s a couple of things I wish I could have done. I am disappointed that I didn’t serve in the Armed Forces (he was too young for Vietnam). And I wish I could have played basketball at ORU. But I really have no regrets.”

Some who reach their 50th birthday begin looking forward to retirement, but Don Sjoberg doesn’t understand the meaning of the word.

“I plan on becoming an attorney somewhere down the road,” he laughed. “It’s something that I think I’d enjoy.”

A complex professional with common tastes, Sjoberg puts the Bible at the top of his reading list, “The Sound of Music” as his favorite movie and he never turns the channel when “The Andy Griffith Show” comes on.

If he could meet one person, who would it be?

“I’d really like to meet President George W. Bush,” he said. “He’s made some mistakes, but he’s also accomplished some outstanding things. I’d just like to have the chance to get to know him, see what makes him tick.”

Meanwhile, the Swede who grew up in Maine considers himself an Okie — even Oklahoma native James Garner is his favorite actor — after more than 30 years in the Sooner state as a student, teacher, administrator and professional bassoonist (he performs in Tulsa three or four times a year.) Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating appointed him to the Oklahoma Teacher’s Retirement Task Force in 1997.

“I couldn’t be happier than I am to be the superintendent at Konawa,” Sjoberg smiled. “I take my job very seriously. We’re (administrators, teachers and support) are here for major purpose: Make sure our students have the opportunity to reach their learning capabilities in basic skills. I really look forward to the challenge.”

From the early 1960s when he helped his siblings and classmates with their homework to his role as leader of Konawa School District, Dr. Don Sjoberg has remained grounded — even though he takes to the air as a pilot from time to time. He’s one of those unique individuals who reaches for the stars with his feet firmly on terra firma — taking others around him for the ride.