In the midst of a nationwide teacher shortage, the school hired 26 new teachers this summer. Here’s a look at nine of them.
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Robotics and AP computer science teacher Stan Feighny
All he knew was he wanted to get out.
Growing up in the countryside, Stan Feighny counted down the days to get out of high school and enroll in the army. He spent the next five years in the army, eventually becoming a special force advisor and spending a year in Vietnam.
“I grew up in the country — right in the middle of nowhere,” Feighny said. “All I could think about was getting out of there [and] seeing the world. It was never going to be a life-long thing, it was just to get out for a little bit.”
After leaving the army, Feighny went to Colorado State University to get a degree in computer science. He worked as a consulting manager, doing “the meat and potatoes work” for technology and programming for the next two decades.
“It was work,” Feighney said. “It was a little bit brutal, but it paid off, and there was a lot of opportunity to go into it [when I joined.] I knew it would give me the best shot at a good life.”
Feighny eventually used his degree to teach robotics at the career center. When his mother turned 100, Feighny moved her to the DFW area to take care of her, causing him to retire from teaching. With more time to spare after his mother passed a few years later, he returned to teaching.
“Being with the students is what drives me,” Feighny said. “Helping [the students] discover new things and figure out new solutions is something you can’t get anywhere else. I knew I had to come back.”
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AP government and U.S. history teacher Carrie Roberts
If there was one thing Carrie Roberts knew her entire life, it was that she would be a teacher. It was always a goal in the back of her mind, but it really took root her junior year, when her U.S. History teacher showed her “how much fun” history could really be.
“History isn’t just one single story,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of gray areas in it — things outside of the textbook. You could make many different arguments based on the same set of facts. It’s all fascinating.”
Roberts earned an undergraduate degree in history from Baylor University before obtaining a master’s in teaching social studies from the Graduate School for Education in Columbia. There, she said she began to enjoy the creativity that goes into planning a lesson and designing activities.
“Putting those lessons together I realized how exciting it was to be a teacher,” Roberts said. “It’s everything I love; I can work with people, learn more about history and design things.”
After seven years of teaching in New York, Roberts moved to teach middle school U.S.
History in Houston. Though the age groups she taught have varied, she said the relationship she makes with students remains the primary reason she teaches.
“Not every one of my students is going to go into history,” Roberts said. “But, hopefully, they will have an understanding of it and [the students] with that interest — with that spark — will see it as a viable option. I just want to help them get to that point.”
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Pre-calculus and geometry teacher Elizabeth White
Elizabeth White has been teaching her entire life. It started in elementary school, when she would help her peers with their work and it first occurred to her that she could do this the rest of her life.
“It’s rewarding when you see a student begin to actually learn and have that ‘Aha!’ moment,” White said. “They’re trying hard and they’re getting their answers. Even if they struggle, they keep on going, and that is something I love to see.”
She applied that advice to her own life, taking up cookie decorating during the COVID-19 pandemic despite a few failed attempts. After classes with her mother-in-law, she gave the cookies to her friends and family, who eventually convinced her to start a business.
“[The videos] were intriguing,” White said. “I just told myself that I needed to learn, and I tried it. The first ones weren’t very great, but I kept trying and it all took off from there.”
This wasn’t the first time White had taken up art, as she minored in jewelry and metal smithing after discovering it in high school. Along with cookies, she continues to make her own jewelry and said she enjoys the tediousness that comes with both.
“That’s why I love geometry so much — it’s art and math rolled into one,” White said. “You get to visually see everything and do those meticulous things in both to get it all right. It all goes very hand-and-hand and can create a beautiful finished product.”
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World history teacher Zachary Zimmerman
Starting as a human resource intern, Zachary Zimmerman realized working in a cubicle for the next 25-30 years was not the job for him. Education had always been a backup choice, but soon it became reality when he realized he loved not being able to expect what the next day would bring.
“I was kind of flipping back and forth between business and education,” Zimmerman said. “[Teaching gives] me variation every day, and every day is different. You come in with a plan, but that plan never works. There's always something going on. Nothing is ever going to be how you plan it.”
Throughout his life, Zimmerman said he has always enjoyed learning about different cultures and exploring different countries. He has traveled to 18 countries, his favorite being the Netherlands. He plans to go to Thailand and Japan in the future.
“I play FIFA, soccer [has] really helped me [get to] know all these other countries and cities,” Zimmerman said. “It has helped me to know all the geography of the world, especially during the Road Cup and the 2010 World Cup game on FIFA.”
This is Zimmerman’s first job teaching after graduating from University of Texas at Arlington last May. He said he hopes to learn more and become more organized throughout the school year.
“[Teaching is] a big strain [on] your personal life,” Zimmerman said. “Once I get the routine down, it'll get easier. There seems to be a good support system here at Hebron, so that's good. The social studies team [is] really supportive and the coaches have been supportive so far, [too].”
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Counselor Leslie Howell
Getting into a fight in fifth grade with a group of girls changed Leslie Howell’s life. She said she realized that school counselors are helpful and it was something that she wanted to become.
“I like the level of conversation that I can have with a high schooler,” Howell said. “[High school students] are able to think critically and think through more options, especially in a counseling situation. When you are feeling stuck, it is easier to walk through [different] possibilities, [compared to] an elementary or middle school level.”
Howell started her career teaching special education for eight years. She has taught all around Texas, including Austin and Houston; however, her passion for being a counselor made her change jobs. This is Howell’s third time being a Hawk.
“It feels very familiar,” Howell said. “I was at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville before moving back here. They are the Hendrickson Hawks, [and] have the exact same super “H” that Hebron has. It was nice to come to some place that looks [similar].”
She has been adjusting to the changes, but said she is excited for the pep rallies and to get involved in the activities that take place here. She said she hopes to get to know her students.
“[Hebron] seems like a really supportive place,” Howell said. “The teachers, other counselors and the administrators that I've met have all been really kind. [It’s] been nice to jump into.”
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Instructional support teacher Clayton Johnson
Playing football in both high school and college, instructional support teacher and coach Clayton Johnson’s passion never died. Johnson was not able to play football professionally, so he turned to education.
“[Football is] the sport that I have love and passion for,” Johnson said. “You can’t get away from being in front of a crowd. It's one of those things where that adrenaline rush can't really be replicated anywhere else.”
After graduating from University of Texas at San Antonio, Johnson started his own organization called “Lionhearts Sports.” He began coaching at the non-profit, where he worked with younger kids.
“You [have] to be patient and build a relationship with your players and students,” Johnson said. “The more that [a teacher] breaks down [a] barrier, [the more] respect a student [will] give. I'm not just a coach, but I'm here to help [the students] outside of this football stuff as well.”
Johnson coaches varsity and JV football. He also has begun working on his certification for teaching. Johnson said he hopes he will be teaching in the social studies department by the next semester or year.
“I want to bring back that tradition of winning to Hebron because [I know we can] have a tradition of winning; we [just] haven't gotten to [it] yet,” Johnson said. “As long as [my students] continue to grow every day and evolve [into] young men and students, I think [it will be an] overall success for me.”
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Chemistry teacher Joshua Warner
Although this is his first year, Joshua Warner isn’t exactly new to Hebron. He previously taught here as a student teacher, but he always preferred teaching alone. That’s when he said he felt like a true teacher for the first time.
“I like the person-to-person connection — those ‘Aha!’ moments,” Warner said. “When I'm explaining those hard, difficult concepts, especially in science, [students have real world scenarios] that they can apply [it] to.”
Connections and conversations let teachers know more about students, and that’s how Warner said his class is able to get along and treat each other with respect.
“The most important thing to me is that my students are getting along with each other and making connections with each other that are going to last longer than just inside this classroom,” Warner said.
Warner has expressed his interest in the science field as a whole. He said he loves teaching, but is also interested in what the medical field has to offer, so he is keeping his options open.
“I’m very much a people person,” Warner said. “I could see myself doing any kind of job where a lot of people are involved, and teaching definitely fits that [aspect].”
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Theater teacher Logan McGraw
Logan McGraw has always been one for the fine arts. Whether it was gibberish as a baby, or putting on his dad's clothes as costumes for a small performance in the living room, theater was always a passion.
“[I] fell in love with [teaching theater] my senior year of high school, where I realized I wanted to put that passion on other people,” McGraw said.
McGraw said he cherishes self respect and problem solving; to him, the two go hand-in-hand when it comes to performing. McGraw said he makes sure to take self respect into his class every day so that his students can perform, excel and portray kindness to one another.
“[Self respect] is huge in theater,” McGraw said. “We can't just like everything, we have to look at what made something sound good or if we didn't like something, what [it was] that we didn't like about it.”
McGraw says theater requires more dedication than people think, as most students end up staying well past school hours to review and critique. According to McGraw, the skills learned can be applied to much more.
“It's skills that you can take in just about any uptake to any other area of study [in] your jobs,” McGraw said. “We're here to teach you how to speak in public, make choices, problem solve, collaborate with other people and think creatively.”
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Coach and AVID teacher Rachel Buckley
Rachel Buckley isn’t new to the school. She was a student at Hebron and previously taught at the 9th grade campus before coming back to where she is now. Buckley said she prioritizes discipline because she’s a coach.
“When motivation is not there, you've got to fall back on your discipline,” Buckley said. “My students need to hope for optimism and stay positive in the face of adversity.”
Buckley said she fell in love with Hebron when she was on the 9th grade campus. During that time, she taught teen leadership — a class where teens are introduced to what being a young adult is like. The students get to interact with the teacher in real-world scenarios and express their ideas.
“Every single class that I had in teen leadership was always so powerful,” Buckley said. “We got so tight knit and I saw [that] by the end of the nine weeks, some kids who did not want to be in there [originally] were the ones who had the best community service ideas and were my best leaders.”
Currently, Buckley is a volleyball and basketball coach, and also teaches AVID. According to the AVID website, the goal of AVID is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college and career readiness. Buckley said she enjoys being an influence on students and hopes to change their lives for the better.
“My favorite part of the whole experience would be being that adult in [students’] lives that [they] feel like [they] can come to for support and building that relationship with them,” Buckley said.
