Student-teacher Sammie Heft graduated from Lakes Community High School in 2018. She currently attends Miami University in Ohio and chose to student teach at Antioch for the fall.

Teaching for Heft means being in a big school with an energetic atmosphere. It is her senior year in college and she has returned to her hometown to teach in the classroom. According to Heft, her fun and bubbly personality drive her to make a difference in the way her students interpret information; her inspiration stems from her teachers back in elementary school.

“I saw what a difference they made in my engagement and [desire]to learn, so I want to do that for other students,” Heft said.

Heft initially believed that the ideal age group to teach is younger kids, specifically third graders because they are very spirited. However, she grew to realize that high school is her passion because she would not be teaching the same thing every day and she could engage with her students.

“I like teaching high schoolers because they can challenge the teacher,” Heft said. “You can learn from each other.”

Heft does not know where she will be in five years, however. Heft explained that, if she was talked to three weeks before the school year started, she would be unsure about teaching as a whole.  She was second-guessing herself because she was not sure if in-person school was going to happen this year.

“It’s scary going into your senior year and thinking, ‘wait, this might not work,'” Heft said.

According to Heft, her biggest motivation was not letting people down. She is very hardworking and does not want people to pick up the slack that she would leave, so she strives until something is complete. Whether it is family or friends that keep her going, she will not give up until she is satisfied with her work.

“I will keep working until I feel like I have met the expectations that were set for me,” Heft said.

Ms. Heft will be leaving Antioch on October 6 to teach abroad in Europe at an international high school. Students attending the school speak a variety of languages and are learning English subjects from the ground up. Heft will be teaching math to kids from around the world who are learning to adapt to the English language.