MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013
PAGE 19 THE SPOKE
FEATURES
Photos and Reporting by Sophia Ponte Staff Reporter Steve Eberly Steve Eberly knew he was going to pursue a career in the French language since he was a senior in high school, when his French teacher took a group of students on a trip to France. Eberly decided that he was going to major in the language and since then, he has taught almost all levels of French at Conestoga. Eberly will be retiring after 35 years of teaching. Eberly plans to continue keeping in touch with some students and close friends that he acquired from teaching over the years. In fact, he said that these relationships have been some of his favorite things about teaching at Conestoga. “I’m going to miss the interactions with the kids,” Eberly said. “There were certain kids that I would have for three years or four years in marching band or in
class, certain groups of kids that you got to know very well, and those interactions were the most fun part.” While Eberly will miss interacting with students on a daily basis and the routine and structure of the school community, he is also happy to say “au revoir” to Conestoga. “Leaving the school is very bittersweet,” Eberly said. “My favorite part would be working with the kids, but it just seemed to get more and more stressful as the years would go by.”
Scott Holland
After 35 years teaching almost all levels of both French and Spanish, and eight years as the chair of the language department, Holland has decided to retire. Aside from teaching either French or Spanish, or a combination of both languages, Holland has also been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities, including National Honor Society, and various drama productions. Next year, once he is retired, Holland will not fully part with the French and Spanish languages. He has plans to visit family in France, possibly do some mission work in Central America, and maybe even tutor. But despite that he is happy to leave, he does feel that he will miss the structure of the school’s schedule. “It is almost disconcerting to know I am not going to be back here next year,” Holland said. “It’s two sided. School is a very structured environment. We are run by the bells, we know exactly what we are doing each day. Now all that structure will be gone. So I am going to have to create my own structure, and that will be challenging, but interesting. I am a creature of habit, so I will form some sort of structure, but I don’t know what that is yet, so that is disconcerting. But I’m not fearful, and since I just became a grandfather, I will have time to spend with the family.”
Stephen Hughes
Tim Husband
Cheryl Keller
Physics teacher Stephen Hughes is also retiring at the end of this year—the only retiring teacher who is not in the language department. Hughes currently teaches accelerated physics at Conestoga, but in the past has taught honors physics, chemistry, and several math courses. Before he came to Conestoga as a teacher, Hughes was a chemical engineer. He worked on a project that centered on turning soft contact lens material into artificial arteries. Hughes decided to switch out of engineering to become a teacher because he was looking for a more collaborative atmosphere.
Spanish teacher Tim Husband will also be retiring this year, after 35 years of teaching at both Conestoga and Valley Forge Middle School. Even though he has taught both French and Spanish, Husband will also be remembered for the vast multitude of clubs and projects that he supported. “It’s funny because if and when I die, I am going straight to heaven,” Husband said. “Because I’ve done work for Gay-Straight Alliance, Best Buddies, African American Student Union, Take a Blink for Pink, Pulsera Project and Peer Mediation. I am proud of the fact that GSA is so popular at Conestoga, because when it started it was not.” Now that he is retiring, Husband has few regrets or qualms about leaving the school. “I can’t wait, I have no negative thoughts. I will miss laughing when the kids are cute and funny, and the students make me feel proud to be a teacher here,” Husband said. Husband will be selling his house in Phoenixville this year and moving to the Delaware
Spanish teacher Cheryl Keller will wave Conestoga goodbye after 12 years of teaching at the school. Keller has taught in a number of districts around the country, including ones in Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C . a n d N e w Haven, Conn., and worked with students from many different
“I like synergy. I like the idea of people working together,” Hughes said. “That’s what I found here: all the teachers share. [In engineering], people would work together, but it wasn’t a given. Here it is a given. I have never had anybody not share with me.” After having taught at Conestoga for 29 1/2 years, Hughes has realized that one of his favorite things about teaching at Conestoga has been the working with the students. “The kids really work with you,” Hughes said. “They really go out of their way the majority of the times to go along, if you are trying to make a joke, they will go along with you even if it is a little old fashioned. They are really wonderful here.”
shore. “People ask me whether I’m going to be bored, but I will have plenty to do,” Husband said. “I am going to do whatever I want, whenever I want, with whomever I want, and I just can’t wait.”
backgrounds. Keller owes many of her positive teaching experiences to the diverse group of children that she has taught. “The most dedicated, talented people that I worked with had nothing to do with the school I was in. It had to do with the ability of the community,” Keller said. Keller links the rewards of teaching to her students as well. “The most exciting thing is when students catch my enthusiasm and my interest in my subject, and they go on to live it. That is the most rewarding part of teaching for me. There is a lot behind the faces. It’s not like teaching elementary school students who are adorable and sweet and cute. When you are dealing with a high school student, they’re much more complex, far more to explore,” Keller said. Sophia Ponte can be reached at sponte@stoganews.com.