By Shirley Shuman
Faith Byerly, daughter of Matthew and Sherry Byerly, plans to become an elementary school teacher. To obtain the education for her planned career, the seventh-place senior in this year’s graduating class will attend Glenville State College. She explained both decisions.
“I decided to teach in elementary school because I’ve always liked little kids, and the idea of passing on to them what I know is interesting to me,” Byerly said. Her choice of Glenville was made primarily because of its proximity to her home. “Glenville is close enough that I can come home every weekend and do some of the stuff I normally do, like go to church,” she added.
Byerly’s interest in education as a career may have influenced her choice of favorite teacher. “Although I have several ‘favorite’ teachers, if I have to choose only one, it is Mrs. [Sharon] Desper. I loved her class because she always tried to teach us in ways we’d understand better. Also, she always tried to understand us.”
Desper teaches the Careers in Education cluster.
Art is Byerly’s favorite class. “It is the most interesting,” she noted, “and it has a lot of hands-on stuff. I like that.”
She explained she isn’t involved in many activities at school because she feels she doesn’t have time. “I work at KFC/Taco Bell,” she said, “and I’m involved in church.” In her free time, Byerly “reads a lot and goes to church.” She prefers fantasy and action books. This young woman’s choice of career appears related to her choice of what has made the greatest impact on her education. “The greatest impact has come from my teachers in general, the way teachers present everything to make it easier to learn,” she explained her choice. Faith Eberly plans someday to be one of those teachers.
