Where are they now?

I still remember my first day at St. Mary’s. I pouted the entire ride home from Meet the Teacher because my mom made me leave Mrs. Akin’s classroom after an hour of playing with the toys and coloring books. The nine years I spent at SMS provided me with endless memories, friends, and lessons that have carried into my adult life. 

    From kindergarten to eighth grade graduation, St. Mary’s was the cornerstone of my education. I think I spent more time there than anywhere else in my life, and I only ended up in Mr. Pahl’s office once, believe it or not. 

    10 years flies by. Some of my fondest memories came during the nine that I spent as an Apache. I lost my first tooth outside of Mrs. Akin’s classroom. Mrs. Leisha and Mrs. Joanie pulled out my front tooth in the milk line. I was so proud showing all my friends the big hole in my smile for the rest of the day. I will never forget that a hexagon has six sides, thanks to Mrs. Hext. I still think about her every time I see one, remembering her lesson that “if you ever forget, just think HEXagon and HEXt.” 

    My first pet was at St. Mary’s. Thanks to Mrs. Blake, our class got a cream-colored hamster. We named it Vanilla Latte. I know for a fact none of us in that third-grade class had ever had a vanilla latte, but we named her that anyway. The death of my first pet was also Vanilla Latte. May she rest in peace, buried outside of the high school building under a tree. 

    I earned my bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. English and history were always my favorite subjects. I was always fascinated by words. A large part of that came from Wednesdays in Mrs. Howell’s fifth grade class. Wednesday was the day we read from the Weighty Word Book. This book used a short story to teach new, complex vocabulary words. I was so obsessed with this lesson, and I still remember the stories we learned, like an elephant who was going on a date and wore a gray dress to eat…in gray she ate, aka ingratiate.  Mrs. Howell saw how enthusiastic I was about words and learning English that she gifted me the Weighty Word Book on the last day of school. It sits in its proper place on my bookshelf in my childhood bedroom to this day. Ask my mom, it’s true.  Every time I use ostracize or juxtapose, I think of Mrs. Howell and how she encouraged my love of English. 

    You are not a true graduate of St. Mary’s if you do not have fond memories of Mr. Weinheimer. The first time I met Mr. Weinhiemer, he sang the lunch menu in the cafeteria. I loved every moment of his class. The first five minutes were always the most entertaining asking him, “Mr. Weinheimer, what is for dinner? Mr. Weinheimer, what outfit are you wearing?” For those who don’t know, he had labeled shirts, ties, and pants that he wore each day. For example, he would wear his “A” shirt with his “C” pants and “F” tie. I learned so much about history in his class. My favorite lessons were how he taught us the Alamo without having to read a word from the textbook. Then we watched the John Wayne movie, of course. He also authored an entire chapter about Fredericksburg history to teach us, it’s all about location, location, location, after all. Mr. Weinheimer’s passion for history and teaching was inspiration to find a career that I loved as much as he did. 

    Learning from these teachers was an opportunity that is unmatched in my academic life. Their patience is a virtue I will never forget. Their emphasis on the importance of learning and knowledge shaped my love of school. They taught us how crucial it is to have someone in the classroom to champion our successes and to be there to offer a helping hand when we need it. I am forever grateful for the influences I had in the classroom during my time at St. Mary’s. 

    I would not be me if I didn’t talk about athletics, Coach Loth, and Coach King. My entire career revolves around athletics, but I fell in love with sports at St. Mary’s. My earliest memories are on the football field at St. Mary’s with the cheerleaders. Coach Loth would always take the time to come over and tease me after practices. I was the miniature version of my mom, out there critiquing formations, playing the music for the dance routines, and even standing alongside the squad and learning cheers and chants. I loved every day I was able to spend as a St. Mary’s cheerleader and learn from my mom what it meant to not only work hard but represent the school with pride. 

    Sports have always been a passion of mine, and that is thanks to Coach Loth and Coach King. If it was doing conditioning and walking around with shaky legs afterwards or spending time in the coaches’ office after practice, Coach King was always a patient listening ear and a joyful laugh. She taught us how to be disciplined and receive it with love. Her mentorship opened my eyes to the importance of coaching and how a team can become a family, a large reason I was so intrigued by the athletics industry. 

    Coach Loth always knew when I was giving my full effort, and he demanded it from me. I always laugh thinking about how he made me run the 400 meters and the 4x400 relay because he knew I was “sandbagging” during time trials in track my eighth-grade year. Even in our sixth-grade math class, he taught us how to have pride in our work and understand what it meant to apply ourselves and think critically. After all, his two rules in class were: 

1. Coach Loth is always right.

2. If Coach Loth is wrong, refer to Rule #1.

St. Mary’s athletics taught me much more than the game on the field or court. It instilled a sense of resiliency and drive that I carry with me. It showed me how to put my nose to the grindstone and keep pushing, even when things get hard, to achieve my goals. I would not have pursued a career in athletics if I hadn’t had the foundation set by the coaches at St. Mary’s. 

Now, as a 24-year-old, I look back at my time in the halls of SMS with fondness. Some classmates and I still reminisce about the times we had and the lasting memories made in those buildings. I am currently working at the University of Georgia Athletic Association in sports communications and just completed my master’s degree in Sport Management at UGA. Though I am states away, my Apache Pride shines as brightly as it did 10 years ago when I wore the uniform. 

St. Mary’s taught me what it means to be a good person. It taught me how to love, how to live in a Godly manner, and the meaning of family, no matter how far from home you might go. SMS took an unruly, loud, mischievous little girl and turned her into an adult who tries to live her life based on the lessons taught by each person in those buildings. I do not have enough words to express my love and gratitude to those who helped mold me and guide me on the path God set. I am forever a St. Mary’s Apache. 

To continue reading, click here for PART TWO.