As students walk through the quad surrounded by the 600 and 800 buildings at PRHS they are sure to run into a friendly and well known Campus Assistant, Bob Mahoney. If you see the famous Mahoney, you will recognize his iconic outfit including a crimson shirt, a Bearcat hat, and an earpiece and walkie talkie on his belt, ready for the hustle and bustle of student life. For 17 years, PRHS has been blessed to have Mahoney as a Campus Assistant. He is an essential piece in the well being and safety of students at PRHS.

Algebra 1 teacher Kurtis Goodin is thankful for Mahoney’s involvement with the students as “teachers don’t always get the same opportunity,” to connect with students the way Mahoney can.

“He is very friendly, personable, and understands a great deal about the high school students,” Goodin said. “He treats them as adults and builds a really good rapport with them. The way he goes about his job really resonates with the students and they appreciate it. I am very fortunate to have him on our campus,” he said.

Mahoney walks between 5-7 miles everyday between 9am to 2pm with a goal to say “hi” to every student in his quad at least once during nutrition, A or B lunch, or passing period so students passing through or congregating near the math wing are sure to be greeted with a grand smile from Mahoney and then the comforting question; “How are you doing today?” 

Juniors Alan Lara and Jose Olvera hang out in Mahoney’s territory most days and appreciate Mahoney’s presence on campus as well. 

“I see him every day, he’s pretty caring and he always asks how we’re doing,” Lara said.

“Bob is very caring and is very nice to us,” said Olvera. “My favorite thing is how he always asks how we’re doing and he checks in on us and if we’re having a bad day he tries to support us and helps us out.”

Before working as a Campus Assistant, Mahoney was a police officer for 30 years, but says working with students is his “favorite job.” He enjoys watching the student’s progress and hopefully see them graduate one day.

“It’s enjoyable to see the growth of a student between their freshman and senior year and to see them graduate,” Mahoney said. “To watch them on the stage and receive their diploma…*moment*” I tell you it’s the best thing to see their parents glowing, and usually their mothers will have a tear in their eye, because they know how they struggled to be where they are now. And that’s just amazing to me.”  

One of the reasons why Mahoney wants to help students is because as a young man he “made mistakes,” and doesn’t want to see students suffer through the same challenges. His “worst days” are when he “gets a student that’s maybe doing drugs or vaping or something like that,” Mahoney says, “those are the days I do not enjoy.” But he says, “That’s my job and that’s the way it is.”

“I want them [the students] to know that everyone can do better,” Mahoney said. “Especially in today’s environment we have so much divisiveness that it’s difficult that it’s for me to understand some of the things that are happening. So I just want the students to understand that everybody has a right to be free and to have the same protections as everyone else has and to have the same expectation of happiness that everyone else has,” Mahoney said.