3 minute read
Retired Faculty –Where are They Now?
By Debby Jennings
Missi Kovachev ’89
Missi’s fondest memories of her years at FWCD center around tournament trips with boys’ volleyball teams, where she was really able to bond with students and laugh a lot. She remembers a player who ate 34 pieces of pizza because it was his jersey number, one who could sing every word of every SpongeBob SquarePants song, and the guys who would rearrange their hotel room furniture to create some kind of game. “Tons of fun times,” is how she describes those trips.
Missi’s youngest, Eva, is a senior at Oakridge this year and plays tennis all over the metroplex so Missi does a lot of the “Mom” stuff with Eva. Next year, Eva will attend Trinity University in San Antonio and play on her college tennis team so Missi will expand her traveling south for those matches. Her older daughter, Mia ’20, graduated from UTA and is attending Boston University to earn a graduate degree in journalism.
Every year, Missi and her husband, Alex, travel to Bulgaria to see Alex’s family and friends. They are planning to keep their family property there so they can visit regularly as they really enjoy spending time in Alex’s home country. Missi also stays busy driving a Meals on Wheels route once a week and working in her garden, which she admits is an adventure in trial and error.
Missi always felt there was something energizing and hopeinspiring working in a school with young people. “When bad things happened, like 9/11 or deaths, it seemed like the hopefulness of the students made it easier to recover every time,” she said. Missi would love to say “thanks” to all the FWCD students she taught in her K-12 PE classes ancoached in tennis and volleyball. “To those students who were willing to open themselves up and create a relationship … that’s what made all my years rewarding and enjoyable,” she said.
Kathy Lott
Kathy still works part-time at FWCD, helping to process tuition assistance so that deserving and talented students are able to enroll. She feels this is so important that when asked to help, she came back out of retirement to do her part.
Kathy and her husband, Buddy, built a second home in Waller, so they could be close to daughter Anita, son-in-law, and three grandsons. They kept their home in Fort Worth so they could go back and forth as much as they wanted. Kathy and Buddy are avid golfers and so are the grandsons. The boys play on select golf teams, and Kathy loves traveling to watch them play and attend school functions.
Every year, the family takes a trip to Jamaica Beach to enjoy the sun and sand. Kathy says this is a wonderful experience with the boys. Recently, they took a family golf trip to Mansfield, Ohio to meet up with family in the Midwest.
Kathy loved working with families during the admission process. “By the time the admission process was complete, I felt like they were part of my family,” she said. Kathy felt that FWCD had a great working environment, so it was a pleasure to get involved with the activities on campus. Teaching Algebra II in the Upper School was a change of pace from admission that she really enjoyed. Kathy writes, “I enjoyed the students’ sense of humor, learning about their goals and aspirations, and I am so proud of all of them!”
