People end up in jobs for all kinds of reasons. Some say a higher power directed them
to a position. Others insist that it’s all a matter of luck and happenstance. Whether it’s
one of those two or something else altogether, here’s a fun fact for you: approximately
25 percent of the people who are employed at Marietta Public Schools are there
because it’s home.
The reason it’s home is because they are Marietta High School alumnus. More than 30
of the school’s faculty and staff members graduated from MHS and have returned to
their alma mater to invest their time and efforts into the next generations of Marietta
students.
Former MHS students are working every day in every part of the school system. They’re
teaching in the classroom, feeding children in the cafeteria, maintaining facilities, and
working in offices as secretaries and administrators. It’s safe to say that if you’re on the
campus at MPS, you can’t throw a rock and not hit somebody who used to walk the
halls as a student and then came back to walk them for a different reason.
And while it is interesting that so many former students would choose to return to school
to work, it’s also interesting why they do it. Some, like Nati Sanchez, Class of 2005, Tina
Varner Sykora from Class of 1991, and Maria Sanchez Juanez, Class of 2008, originally
came to work at the school because they had kids there and it allowed them to be
closer and more involved in activities.
Nati works in the central office as encumbrance clerk, Tina is a library assistant in the
middle/high school, and Maria started as a secretary, but is now a classroom teacher.
“I wanted to return to Marietta so I could be closer to my children and be a positive role
model for them,” said Maria. “But being able to come full circle and contribute to the
education of students in the same community that helped shape me is very special
experience. It is a reminder of how far I have come and how meaningful it is to have the
opportunity to positively impact the next generation.”
Jessica Barrientos Hice, Class of 2014 and the primary school secretary, said that
working in her alma mater is just like coming home, complete with a built-in framily
group.
No doubt, there are others who took their jobs because of children, or the proximity to
home, but years – or decades in some cases – later, they’re still working at Marietta.
For the vast majority of grad/employees, going to work at Marietta was something they’d
always wanted to do, something they’re proud to do. Tory Douglass, Class of 2004 and
the girls’ basketball coach for the last several years, said coming back home to work
provided him with a unique opportunity.
“Coaching wasn’t my plan, but when I started, I knew I wanted to come back to Marietta
one day so I could pour all the love and support that was given to me back into the kids
and community,” said Douglass. “Marietta is where I want to be.”
It was the same for Jessica Wolfe, high school English teacher, also Class of ‘04.
“Some of the teachers who had the greatest impact on my life worked in this district,”
she remembered. “Being an alum gives me a strong connection to Marietta and its
traditions. I remember what it was like to be a proud Marietta Indian I feel a strong
responsibility to teach my students that same sense of connection and pride.”
Amber Boatright, Class of 2007, is an assistant principal in the elementary, and she,
too, always wanted to come home to Marietta to work.
“I knew that I wanted to come back and give back to the community and school district
that had given so much to me,” she said. “I am extremely proud of where I come from,
and I feel fortunate to now have the opportunity to be a part of shaping the same school
district that helped shape me. My hope is that the work we do creates a school district
that people not only want to attend but also want to come back to – just as I did.”
From the Class of 2016, Shaylin Nutter Haworth, who teaches fifth graders, put the
cherry on top of the sundae: “Being an educator and an alumni, I feel a sense of
responsibility to make sure that my students feel the same magic and spirit that I
experienced in these hallways. No matter where life takes me, I'll always be so proud to
be an Indian!”
And then there are the cases like Heather Bennett McMahon, elementary counselor,
and Kadence Bazor Brown, ag teacher, who grew up in the school – figuratively and
literally.
Kadence, Class of 2022, is one of the newest faculty members, but she’s been around
the school all of her life, having followed her dad Josh Bazor, longtime MHS ag teacher,
into the building – and then into the profession.
“Growing up, I spent countless summer days and afternoons after school at the ag
building because my father was the agriculture teacher,” she fondly recalled. “In many
ways, that building became a second home to me. Now, I am incredibly grateful that I
get to teach in the very same environment that I already considered home growing up.”
But when it comes to loyalty and pride in MPS, nobody has more than Heather
McMahon. No contest.
“I am a proud 1989 graduate of Marietta High School, but my connection to Marietta
Public Schools goes back long before I ever walked across the stage to receive my
diploma,” she insisted. “I am a third-generation Bennett educator, and this school
district has always been much more than a place where I went to school – it has been a
part of my family and my life.”
Heather’s father, along with her grandfather and grandmother, dedicated years of their
lives in teaching and administration to making MPS the best it could be, and she has
followed in their footsteps. She’s a rabid Marietta Indian who pretty much bleeds black
and gold.
“When I look at the campus today, I don’t just see buildings, I see my grandparents, my
dad, and myself,” she explained. “And I see generations of educators who helped shape
this school district. Being a part of Marietta Public Schools as a student was special, but
being able to return as an educator makes that connection even more meaningful.
“Buildings change, classrooms are remodeled, and new generations of students come
through the doors. But the memories, traditions, relationships, and love for education
remain. I am incredibly proud of where I came from, proud of the family legacy that
came before me, and grateful that I have the opportunity to continue that legacy.”
Is there a deeper level of pride, commitment, and investment from alumni who return to
work in their alma mater? Obviously the proof’s in the puddin’. But one thing is for
certain: these grads definitely have some skin in the game when it comes to working in
the system from whence they came.