Women. Women are creators, innovators, caregivers, and inspirers. Women created computer algorithms, life rafts, and electric refrigerators. Women have led movements, written revolutions, and fought on the front lines for change.  Women are people and have lifted each other up for generations paving the way for the next trailblazers to take on the world.

This women’s history month some of the female teaching staff who inspires the SCHS community shared which woman in their life has most inspired them. These are their stories…

English Teacher Shannon Alberts, On Her Mom, Megan Boyd

“Magical”

That is how Alberts describes her mom. She explained, with a big smile, how Boyd has been the main female figure in her life, baking a homemade cake for every Birthday, constructing costumes from scratch for Halloween, and just marvelously making extraordinary things happen. 

Boyd is an all-around creatively productive person. 

“At 60 she took up archery. At 65 she decided she was going to write a book, and it was on Amazon the next year,” Alberts exclaimed.

Boyd’s ability to succeed in whatever she puts her mind to, no matter how odd or out there, has shaped Alberts’ personal outlook.

“I want to learn to cook something, I cook it, I want to learn to sew something, I sew it, I want to build something, I build it…not starting with the limitations but immediately tapping into your imagination of what you could do to make it happen…that’s how I live my life,” she said, “That all comes from being around a woman who was like ‘well, roll up your sleeves and let’s get to it.’”

Science Teacher Juli Bachman, On Her Aunt, Karen Delgado

“She lived in one of those old farmhouses from the 1850s. She had a lot of land so we could run around and play,” said Bachman.

Bachman described how she and her three siblings would spend summers at Delgado’s home in order to give their single mom a break as she juggled taking care of her children and working as a nurse. 

“In the barns, [Delgado] would set up little camps. When we were younger we got to do the camps along with the other kids, and as we got older, we became her assistants,” Bachman explained fondly.

When she was young, Bachman enjoyed observing her aunt in her role as a teacher. 

“…seeing her engaged with her students [and] how passionate she was about it made me really interested to give it a try as well,” she described.

The two of them would always sit and talk about science and nature, subjects they both felt extremely connected to. 

Delgado influenced Bachman even more though with her ability to persevere. Bachman watched as Delgado dealt with family struggles and was able to carry on despite them, always showing up for her family and students with a positive attitude and the determination to work hard.

“Even if you’re going through tough times you still have other people around you, whether it be your school community, your church community, your [biological] family, or your friends,” Bachman said, describing what Delgado revealed to her.

Through her actions, Delgado instilled in Bachman an invaluable lesson that could benefit everyone.

“Knowing that you have that community there to help you get through tough times is something important for all of us to keep in mind.” 

Math Teacher Allison Stock, On Her Mom, Lissie Barro

“I think she just loves to learn,” Stock said with bright eyes and admiration.

Barro was a stay-at-home mom until Stock, the youngest of her four kids, went to middle school. When Stock was young, Barro would bring her along to an array of classes at the junior college. These courses included ceramics, art, and photography.

“[She was always doing] something enriching and I loved it,” said Stock, “It was all about making herself a better person, which in turn made her a better mom.”

Once Stock began sixth grade, Barro, who had a high school degree, decided to go back to college where she majored in English and earned her teaching credential.

“She never looked at her age or her place in life as a factor in that ‘she’s done’ or that ‘she can’t be what she has wanted to [be] her whole life.’”

She accomplished all of this while being a present mom. Stock explained how Barro was always at all of her and her siblings’ events and how she was a reliable figure in her life.

“She never complained once…her outlook was that it was a privilege that she was able to do this and she always had [her] priorities set.”

Barro also influenced Stock’s overall viewpoint through her ability to move forward in pursuit of her endeavors.

“She has had a lot of tragedy in her life and her outlook is ‘I can either let it define me, or I can learn from it and be stronger from it,’” Stock explained, “Whatever your outlook is is going to be your reality.”

Barro was inevitably the inspiration behind Stock becoming a teacher. Stock had gone to college and was a semester away from earning her degree in advertising when she went to meet her mom for lunch. 

“I went to her classroom and she wasn’t done teaching but I was sitting in her classroom…I was watching her teach and I was like, ‘This is it, oh my gosh.’”

After completing her advertising degree she immediately signed up to obtain her teaching credential.

Through her example, Barro was able to instill confidence in Stock to pursue her own path.  

“It doesn’t matter where you are in life, you can always start over and get [to] where you want.” 

English Teacher Corrie Myers, On Her Former Supervisor, Michelle Estrada

“She was my first example of a female leader,” Myers said resolutely.

Estrada was Myers’s supervisor and the assistant principal at the school where Myers began her second teaching job 12 years ago. 

Myers describes Estrada as someone you shouldn’t mess around with, explaining how many of her colleagues were intimidated by her. While she was serious, she was also balanced.

“She knew when to practice empathy and she knew how to talk to teachers as experts [and] as really valuable people,” Myers said.

Estrada was rare as a female assistant principal; and in their community, she was an anomaly.

“She weathered a lot of challenges because she was [female],” Myers acknowledged, “She was skipped for jobs that she should have gotten because she was a woman and everybody knew that.”

It was the way she handled those circumstances that were so inspiring to Myers. 

“What I loved was that she was a really good leader and she did not shy away from how being a woman allowed her to connect with people in a very male-dominated field,” she said.

Myers and Estrada became close friends throughout their years working together and Estrada would motivate Myers to explore her potential, even giving her leadership opportunities to allow her to experiment with her skills.

“She just saw something in me and pushed that…she encouraged me as a leader.”

This experience stuck with Myers as she continued on to teach in new districts and school sites. 

“The lesson I took away from her was being really specific and naming what you see in other people and using that to empower them,” she said, “I want to lead by empowering other people…I do that with my students, I want my students to have a voice, I want them to see what they have to offer very specifically, because when somebody names something specific in you you start to see it and own it yourself.”

Estrada revealed to Myers a capability everyone can employ. 

“You have the power to affect change just by seeing and naming [skills] in somebody else.”