Born in Iowa, Aaron and his family lived there until he turned five. Making a move, the rest of his childhood was spent in Galion, Ohio. Being the youngest of five children, his folks divorced when Aaron was in the second grade. It was at this time that he learned first hand what it meant to work hard. He earned his first paycheck at age 8, cleaning out brushes for a nearby beauty salon. He also got a paper route. His single mom was now raising all five kids on $6K per YEAR. All the children were expected to work and help contribute. By the age of 26, Aaron estimates that he had held over 40 jobs! and he had NEVER been fired! Aaron states that he and his siblings were not able to get any fancy clothes or toys as kids, but, they never went hungry. In school, all the Long children got excellent grades. Aaron states that he felt like a failure because he was the only one in his family to not graduate in the top three of the graduating class. Aaron was #20 in a class of over 200 students. Being determined, he used the Pell Grant and scholarships to attend college in Ohio where he was the editor of the school newspaper for 2.5 years and wrestled all four years. He was the first ever student at Findley Univ. to be an All-American in the sport of wrestling! Aaron went on to be a TWO time All-American. Aaron's siblings ALL graduated with a college degree, and three have also gone on to get a Master's degree. Aaron has two. Aaron went on to the Univ. of Montana to get his first Master's degree in Poetry. This is where he met his wife, Kris Fink. They dated nearly four years and then went on to marry and have three children, now ages 7, 5 and 2. The family currently lives in Portland, where Kris is also an educator at PCC. Aaron went on to get his second Master's degree (MED) once married. He has been teaching Corbett Middle Schoolers since 2003. He started on the main campus and then made the move to Springdale and is currently teaching grades 6,7,8 at CAPS. When not teaching or coaching the Corbett High School wrestling team, Aaron loves to be with his wife and kids. He is a Steeler's fan, loves to garden, make things out of recycled materials, and cook. His specialty? Tri-tip roast!
