Patrick Dignan has high expectations, mostly of himself. He’s an Assistant Principal at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School, referred to by Baltimore locals as Mervo. Heart of America met him during a beautification project with partners Mervo and Under Armour, where we painted murals, planted trees and shrubs, and more during their annual Armour Day volunteer event.
How did Mr. Dignan get to Mervo?
“I was at the spot in my career where I wanted to be an assistant principal and have experience in an urban environment. I applied for the assistant principal in Baltimore City because it definitely matches my personal and professional. I don’t think there’s anything more meaningful than being at the city’s largest high school, and I was fortunate enough to be hired by the administration and staff.” From the beginning, it has been a meaningful experience full of life-long learning opportunities. “I mean, they had like 15 people in my interview. No stress, right? Because of this opportunity to serve, they’ve gotten every ounce of my hard work.”
One of the projects that day at Mervo was reimagining the courtyard area.
“The courtyard is completely underutilized. It has traditionally been a space students are not allowed in. We needed to correct that.”
Because of staffing and safety, the space was left alone for years. It is directly outside the cafeteria, the location making it a great place to have lunch outside.
“Heart of America is coming at the perfect time. The courtyard’s functionality will be combined with upperclassmen lunch. We think they should have the chance to make a choice on what they want to do over their lunch break.”
Young people can go to the cafeteria for food and then to another space, such as the library auditorium or gym, as well as the college and career readiness center. This new space is a safe and functional environment, ideal for countless uses.
Mr. Dingnan’s passion speaks volumes.
“People fight for Mervo every day, against the obstacles that come with it. And look, a lot of the people that have been here a while have faced a lot of challenges and need stability that they deserve. There is a can-do attitude of ‘I’m here to help and I’ll take care of it.”
He thinks that HOA has the same attitude.
“When it comes to the Heart of America team, no one gets phased with anything. It’s very can-do, and it’s very positive. There’s nothing that they can’t do.”
“It’s not every day that someone comes in and helps us like this. We can use support. And it’s just for nothing other than our kids. They’re going to love this courtyard, man. They’ll come down here, do TikToks, just be kids.”
And isn’t that the point of why we do what we do: Letting kids be kids? We are as excited as you, Mr. Dignan, about this new space.