This year is Mrs.Stephenson’s first year back at Quartz Hill High School, a new face for some but a returning friend for others. She is an excellent teacher and once a Quartz Hill High School student herself. While it is her first year back at Quartz Hill High School, it is not her first year teaching. Mrs. Stephenson has been teaching for eleven years before this. For ten of these years, she taught in our high school district. From this, she learned how to be the fantastic and caring teacher she is now, always there if you need to talk. 

While now many know her as the new ninth-grade teacher at QHHS, she was once a hard-working high school student. Back in high school, Mrs.Stephenson had a busy schedule. She was an IB student, participated in cheerleading all four of her high school years, president of the Spanish Club, and was part of the Key Club. Outside high school, Mrs. Stephenson worked just as hard as a community cheerleading coach. She enjoyed being a cheerleader, joining clubs, and trying her best in her classes, even with challenging courses. While this made up most of Mrs. Stephenson’s high school experience, she also stated in her interview that she had even more fun at school events. She explained all the fun hangouts she and her friends would have at the Del Taco near the school after football games. She expressed how fantastic prom was when she went, making it one of her favorite experiences from high school. After high school, a fun and new experience awaited her when she got to college. 

Mrs. Stephenson went to several colleges before choosing USCB, where she lived in a sorority only a short drive away from the ocean. During college, she got a master’s degree in Spanish, had fun living in a sorority, and learned to become a teacher through hours of strenuous studying, which she stated was “absolutely worth it.” Mrs. Stephenson’s love for reading and natural gift with English-related studies inspired her to teach English to high schoolers. Her passion for analyzing text and reading new books has made reading in her class fun and has helped me, along with her other students, feel for the characters and experiences in the novels we read.

Returning to Quartz Hill High School is like coming home for Mrs. Stephenson. QHHS is where she can grow and teach students English and how to be respectful and open-minded. While Mrs.Stephenson hasn’t been at QHHS for a whole school year yet, I can confidently say she has impacted every student in her class with her kind and funny nature. Mrs.Stephenson knows how to make her students smile just by being her astounding self.