Drew Dasher is a Buford High School graduate of 2008. He was born in Snellville to Gary and Vicky Dasher. Drew also has a sister, Shelby, 29. The Dashers moved to Buford when he was 4, and Drew started at Buford in kindergarten in 1995.
While in high school, Drew was a busy athlete. He was a football player from 2004 to 2007. He was on the championship-winning team in 2007. He was a scholar athlete in 2007, and he was also a Gwinnett County TD Club Scholar Athlete in 2007. In addition to football, Drew also played baseball for Buford from 2005 to 2008, and he was honored with the Deano Kilgore Award in 2008.
In high school, Drew balanced his busy athletic schedule with his academics to earn a 3.95 GPA. His favorite subject in school was math, which he currently teaches at BHS. When asked about which staff member had the most significant influence on him, Drew fondly remembered two of his teachers from high school. Academically, Patsy Maltbie was his greatest influence. Mrs. Maltbie was his math teacher for three years. Drew said she always pushed him to be the best student he could be, even when he was stubborn. Athletically, Drew remembers Coach Ryan Daniel as having a major impact. Growing up, Drew always looked up to Coach Daniel, and when he returned to help coach in Drew’s senior year, he offered a lot of great advice for Drew to apply in his life. Drew said Coach Daniel’s guidance helped him grow into the man he is today.
During his time at Buford High School, Drew said the most important lesson he learned came from the Buford football program: “Family, Grab On, Snap to Whistle, Believe, Toughness, Effort, Class, and Respect” were the foundations the program was built on, and they are still taught to the players today. Drew said these values were instilled in him while at Buford, and they have continued to help him work through every tough situation he has faced in his life after his high school years.
After he graduated from Buford, Drew attended Georgia Gwinnett College, where he received his undergraduate degree in mathematics with a teaching certification. Drew graduated cum laude from Georgia Gwinnett. Since then, he has earned a master’s in education in instructional technology, and he is currently scheduled to graduate this December with his education specialist degree from the University of West Georgia. Drew has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout all of his graduate school courses.
Drew is in his third year of teaching at Buford High School. He teaches math, and he is the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach for the BHS football team. He also is the head coach for the JV baseball team. Before coming to Buford, Drew spent five years teaching and coaching at North Gwinnett High School. Drew first got into teaching because he wanted to be a high school coach. He said he later realized that, “teaching is really just coaching in the classroom.” Drew was inspired by all of the teachers and coaches that always poured their efforts into his success while he was in high school, both in the classroom and on the field.
Drew lives in Braselton with his wife, Kali, and their two sons, Ryan James, 4, and Camden, 2. Kali is a North Gwinnett High School graduate, and she currently teaches math and coaches the swim and dive team at Mill Creek High School.
The Buford High School Alumni Spotlights are made possible by the generosity of the City of Buford.
