Tom Paulsen, Central’s former principal from 1990 to 2003, was inducted as a Friend of Athletics. In 1992, Paulsen oversaw the completion of the Central’s natatorium. This ended the need for students and athletes to travel to Naperville North for swim practice. That same year, Paulsen faced the task of guiding the school community through the transition from the former mascot, the Redskin, to the current Redhawk.
Q: How do you feel about being inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame?
A: It’s an incredible honor. I was not an athlete, so I thought there was no way I’m going to ever be inducted into this Hall of Fame, but they had the category of Friends of Athletics. It’s an honor to have been considered a Friend of Athletics in my world.
Q: What was the highlight of your experience at Central or what are you most proud of?
A: So I became principal in 1990, but I had been assistant principal here for eight years, so the planning for the auditorium and the pool occurred when I was assistant principal, and then it was finished while I was principal. So it was great to be able to have our own facility because, for example, for the swimming unit in PE, the students got on busses and traveled to North. All our plays and musicals and everything were in North’s auditorium. So to have our own space was just wonderful. Another thing that was just a unique thing for me was when we changed mascots in 1992 from Redskins to Redhawks. That was a kind of an upheaval time. Students were not happy with that. They kept cheering on the Redskins. But, you know, within a couple of years as students came in as freshmen and with Redhawks, that kind of all went away. And that’s really when you think about it, pretty minor. I think it was the right decision. And we had never won a team state championship until we became the Redhawks. Really, it was a year later. It was like an omen that came to be that we needed to change. And once we changed, then the state championships followed.
Q: What message or advice do you have for our current students?
A: Take advantage of as much as you can in high school. Some students come into Central thinking, I’m going to be a volleyball player, I’m going to be a tennis player. I’m going to be in debate, and that’s what I want to do. And then, for whatever reason, if it doesn’t work out, try some other things. Because I’ve known a number of students who started out wanting to be in a certain athletic team, but instead ended up being involved with Central Times, or Theater Central and discovering just how wonderful that was. So I just love the fact that students try different things and find their place in those things. So I encourage that of students moving on to college, you know, don’t just zero onto one thing, be open to other experiences.
Q: What was your favorite thing about being principal at Central?
A: Being here with these students over a number of years, and this staff and this community, the support, the quality of the students, the quality of the parents, the quality of the community, supporting the school, was an inspiration to me and kept me going over those years. And it just was kind of like an example of the way we should be in the larger society, supporting one another, encouraging one another, being civil to one another. We’ve kind of lost a lot of that civility in our public discourse.
For more on the 2025 inductees, click here.