Heide Swatzel
- Positions: Technical theater teacher and technical director
- Bachelors or Degrees: bachelor’s degree in secondary education, emphasis in theater in English, and master’s in Educational Leadership
- School Activities: Theater program
- Years at Caney Creek: 6
- Years Teaching: 18
How would other people describe you?
For the most part, I think people think I’m pretty straightforward, meaning, like, I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. I’m honest. I can be helpful. I try to be kind. I can be serious when I need to
Was there a career you wanted to pursue OR pursued before teaching.
So I started teaching right after I graduated from college. I did think about becoming a stage manager for a while, and I had started a master’s program for that. But after a year, I decided that I was done going to school, and actually decided I would go ahead and teach, and I started, and I’ve been doing it ever since
Tell us about how you got into teaching.
So my mom’s a teacher, she teaches fifth and sixth grade, mostly language art fifth grade, and I think that probably had a big influence on me deciding what to do for a career, because I saw what she did, and I liked that she had the summers with us, and so I thought that that would be fun to to have summers off. It’s a schedule I’m very used to. I also really liked teenagers, so working with teenagers seemed like a good idea.
What do you do outside of school for fun? Why?
For fun. Outside of school, I spend time with my friends and my family. I’m really close to my niece and nephew. They live down the street from me, so I spent a lot of time with them. I like to go hiking. In the summertime. I like swimming, going to the pool, and going to the beach. I like traveling. Love the mountains. That’s my happy place. I Like to go camping, and I’m into photography.
When people get to know you, what are they most surprised to learn about you?
For people that know me from school, I think they’re surprised to know that I can be pretty goofy at times. Because I think I seem more serious, even though, like, I’m not uptight, more serious at school. And so I think they’re surprised to find out that I can be kind of silly. And then for people who know me outside of school, I think they would be surprised to see how serious and focused I can be
Tell us the story about what you are most proud of yourself for.
I think I’m most proud of myself for, like, learning how to persevere. Like, I’ve had different things happen in life. knowing that all of the things I face well, my mom faced them, my grandmother faced them, and they’re both very strong women, and so just knowing that they pursue persevered through things that I actually considered to be harder than what I faced, I was like, Well, this is where I come from, so they’re made of tough stuff. And, you know, I think I grew up pretty privileged, because I don’t think I had a lot of challenges, right? And so as an adult, when I really faced hard times, I had to learn how to like, just keep going and not quit and not give up, and how to like, ask for help when you need it, and build a support system. You know, some people are lucky, and they have that with their family, and some people, you have to make it through friends that you make along the way. And so I think I’ve been really fortunate to have a good support system and to learn how to use that. So just I guess growing up, I’m proud of myself for learning how to manage those things.
Who is someone you are thankful for and why?
my grandmother, I have two grandmothers, obviously, one of them is living and one of them has passed away, and the one I’m thinking of is the one who’s passed away. She was just a really good example of how to treat people with kindness, so that no matter who they are, they feel valued. She had seven kids, and like 60 grandkids and great grandkids and just tons of family. And you could talk to any one of us, and we would tell you that she thought we were special, and so just making people feel special. I’m grateful for her and that example.
What advice would you give to someone pursuing a career similar to yours?
I think that the most important thing is you need to really learn how to build relationships quickly, which means that you have to be willing to show a little bit of who you are and be vulnerable, which can be hard in in our world today, because a lot of times, if we were vulnerable and show our weakness, people want to exploit it, but really our weaknesses usually are ways we can connect with other people. So you have to be willing to make connections, willing to be vulnerable and the summers are really good. So like with, with the things that are challenging, there are usually some reward or some balance. Find balance.
What do you hope to be remembered for?
You know, one of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou, and it’s something to the effect of people might forget what you do, and you might forget what you say, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. And so I try to remember that. And you know, as a teacher, I have an impact on students every day, right? Whether I show up my best self or not, right? And so it’s my responsibility to try to treat everybody with respect and kindness as much as I can, because that’s what I want people to remember. I want them to know that I cared about them, that they meant something to me, so that in the future, that can add to them value that matters.
What’s on your bucket list?
Okay, so I really got into Downton Abbey, and I really, really want to go to London, well, to England, and go to the castle where they filmed Downton Abbey. There’s like a whole tour and things that you can do. So that’s on my bucket list. It’s probably the next big traveling adventure. I would like to do it within the next five years, but I have only decided I will save money, but I haven’t put any money in it yet. So, hopefully five years. that is not too lofty of a goal. I could probably do it.
Favorites
- Food: Cheeseburgers
- Song: “Courage” by Celine Dion
- TV Show: “Downton Abbey”
- Book: “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck
