It was never the end goal; Abby Tanner always had teaching at the end of her career lists all through her childhood. But, when she sat down in her history class one day and watched her History teacher make a part of history look fun, she went straight into teaching and never looked back.

   As a child, when Tanner was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered as any child would. She wanted to be president. However, unlike every child, she continued with that goal, gaining an academic scholarship to move forward with her plan to go into Pre-law. If she wanted to.

   In school, she was often asked to help her classmates with reading. Her first teaching experience. It was something she enjoyed, she was good at reading, and she got to help others. The echoed voice of her eleventh-grade teacher Mr Shimnowski, telling her he believed she would be a good teacher as they needed more teachers in the world, causing the idea of teaching to leech to the back of her mind.

   “I think because I was more of one of the advanced readers in class, the teacher would purposely pair me up with someone who would be struggling.” Said Tanner

   A lingering hatred for history, Tanner never saw the appeal. This distaste lasted all the way to high school, but then, the day sh

They sat in her history class and saw her teacher Mr Woolston, contort his body into an ancient Egyptian pose, which left Tanner in shock. 

   Stunned by her teacher’s antics, she finally made the big decision. She was going to teach. Using the academic scholarship she earned, she chose teaching. It was an adjustment; her father struggled to understand the change. He wanted his daughter to use her full potential. 

   “ I remember my dad being the one to say it was a waste of a scholarship for a job that doesn’t pay very well.” Said Tanner, “But it wasn’t because he was against teaching. I think he feels very differently now.

   It took her a while to adjust to the difference, but she made it happen. She taught for 17years at Northwest High School, but when COVID-19 hit, it was a mental struggle.

   She grew tired of it; the isolation from her students, the isolation from the world, it was hard. So, when her friend reached out to her with a job offer for an after-school program, she would be a fool not consider. On the edge of the line, ready to leave it all behind, she could finally feel attached to something again.

  The interview came, and flashes of her students’ faces flooded her mind. So, she declined the offer. Tanner is happy and proud that she chose to continue teaching. Her students meant everything to her, and she did not want to leave her senior class behind. 

   Now, Tanner is on year 22 of teaching at Northwest, and could not be happier. She loves her students, and in return, her students love her. Making history as fun as Mr. Woolston made it, that one day, senior year.