Add another MHS alum to the list of those who are returning to their alma mater as teachers: Stephanie Burrage Miller.
Miller, one of the valedictorians of the class of 2008, and the daughter of Gayla Burrage, a veteran teacher who’s been with the district for 25 years, is excited to be back in the place where she was raised.
“I have always wanted to teach at Marietta,” she said. “It’s where I grew up and went to school, where my mom is, and where I want my kids to go to school.”
Miller earned an academic scholarship to East Central University in Ada, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 2012. She will be teaching Physical Science and Chemistry classes beginning in August.
Prior to coming home to Marietta, Miller taught in Texas while earning her master’s degree from University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, before spending the last four years in Springer.
As a student at MHS, academics were important to Miller, but she was also a member of the color guard and worked on the yearbook staff and says she enjoyed it all.
“I’m looking forward to school life at Marietta,” stated Miller, “to going to football games and activities and having my boys be able to participate in all the extracurricular opportunities they’ll have at Marietta.”
Miller lives in Enville with sons Jensen, 5, and Jackson, 7, who will be in Pre-K and second grades, respectively, when the school year begins.
Miller credits her high school teachers, particularly her science teacher Mrs. Salyer with inspiring her to want to be a teacher, to help other kids learn what they need to go to college and succeed, just like Marietta Schools did for her when she was a student.
Returning to campus was like slipping on a pair of comfy, old shoes.
“Really, it was a little weird being back, but a good weird,” she laughed. “It’s like being back home after being gone a long time. I’m an alumnus, so the school spirit is already there. I feel so much more invested than if I was working somewhere else. Being in the same district with my mom and having my boys in school here, it just solidifies that feeling.”
Miller joins several other Marietta graduates who have already come back home to work.
“We love it when education comes full circle,” said Superintendent Brandi Naylor. “We want to continue building a strong sense of community in our district and what better way than to have Marietta graduates come back and serve the next generation of students.”