Celebrating MVRHS Grads: Tony Del Valle

Tony Del Valle graduated in the class of 1981. When Tony talks about high school, he mentions that he was able to learn from Nick Marathas, of Nick’s Lighthouse, and Chef Pierre, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School culinary arts teacher, cooking skills that would prove useful in his post grad life. Tony worked during his high school years in restaurants as well as at the Chamber of Commerce to pay bills, but also to learn.  

He found that he was responsible and doing good work, people recognized him and offered him transfers to a more specialized area at the same small business, or an opportunity to advance to a supervisory role. Small computer companies offered Tony classes at different colleges and universities, keeping him abreast of computer technology. He took advantage of a course at Clark, and even one at MIT, but commitment to full-time college was not for him. He often worked two jobs –– working with computers in winter and driving a taxi on Martha’s Vineyard in summers. He was a lab manager at one of these companies, which led to a seven-year telecommunications engineer position at PictureTel. 

Tony was not only a hard worker but an entrepreneur. He paid his bills and saved enough money to buy a two-family home, first off-Island, and then on Martha’s Vineyard. He was able to rent out these houses to add to his income. Along the way, he acquired his Realtor and broker licenses, and worked in real estate for a few years. And if the realty market got low, Tony could be found cooking at a local restaurant, or working in tech at MVTV.  

Eighteen years ago, Tony joined the Sheriff’s Department, and for the past five years he has been the food service director for the staff as well as for those serving time. As we talked, I could easily see how these opportunities not only interest him but challenge and stimulate his learning. Tony has created his own learning plan and succeeds at it. Nice work, Tony!  

Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. She lives in Oak Bluffs. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net.