After 39 years teaching photography and video art, Upper School Visual Arts Teacher Kevin O’Malley will leave the school at the end of this year to pursue his career as a screenwriter in Maine.

O’Malley came to Westlake school before the merger. He believes that teaching the generations of artists during the different stages of the school’s development kept his job interesting.

“You hang out with teenagers and hopefully I don’t act like one, hopefully, I have better musical taste, but it is the cliche,” O’Malley said. “You hang out with younger people and you yourself stay young.”

Although O’Malley joked that he would miss the art budget, he explained that he would miss his students most. He says he has a special connection with his classes.

“[I’m going to miss] the students, absolutely the students,” O’Malley said. “It has been tough. I just thought I will just ride into the sunrise, no big deal, no problem. The seniors, well I’m graduating with them, but I’m left with what am I going to emotionally with my juniors?”

After this school year, O’Malley plans to finish writing the last episode in a coming-of-age television series titled “Shut up and be Pretty”. In the past, he has written six full-length feature screenplays, one novel and about 50 short scripts.