• Positions: English

• Bachelors/Degrees & from where: Science Degree from NIU

• School Activities: none

• Years at Caney Creek: 3

• Years Teaching: 4

How would other people describe you?

I would say that other people would describe me as joyful because I’m always smiling, joking or being obnoxious in the hallway.

Was there a career you wanted to pursue OR pursued before teaching.

I was a personal trainer before teaching and a fitness coach. I really wanted to do it but it just wasn’t good timing with what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t making enough money and doing enough to withstand what I wanted to with my life.

Tell us about how you got into teaching. 

While I was a personal trainer a lot of the clients were teachers and they saw how good of a coach I was and how good of a communicator I was and they were like “you should get into teaching,” and I was like oh that sounds like fun. And then basically I just went ahead and got into schooling and got certified so I would say I was influenced by others.

What do you do outside of school for fun? Why? 

I hang out a lot with my family and I hang out with my daughter who is two. She’s the world  of my life and I just like to give her fun experiences when I’m not here working.

When people get to know you, what are they most surprised to learn about you? 

 Probably my age and where I’m from, I’m not from Texas, I’m from Illinois, and a lot of people think that I’m younger than I am, and I’m always like, it’s weird, but okay maybe I just give off a different energy. 

Tell us the story about what you are most proud of yourself for.

 In making my life what it is today. When I graduated high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to be, what I wanted to become, where I wanted to live, but I knew I didn’t want to stay where I was. I grew up in kind of a tough household, so I knew that I wanted better things for myself, so I went to college, and then I met my husband after college, and then I moved here to Texas from Illinois, and then I built this life that I have now. So I’m very proud of myself for kind of getting myself into a better situation than what I grew up in.

Who is someone you are thankful for and why?

I am very thankful for my husband. He is my supporter through most of you know, everything in my life, and that’s kind of just the team that we built between each other. And, yeah, he just is always there for me, and he’s all I got here. So kind of have to be that way with him.

What advice would you give to someone pursuing a career similar to yours?

If I was to give advice to somebody pursuing a career in teaching, I would say that they need to be mentally strong, because although we’re here to teach kids, we’re also here to be the positive face for them, be like a parent, almost to them, because, you know, when they come to school, they want a safe space, and sometimes this is the only safe space that they have. So mentally, us teachers might take on, you know, those struggles that kids are also dealing with, and that’s something that is not put out there about this job, right? So that is some advice that I would say if you want to be a teacher, you also have to be mentally strong and ready for those things.

What do you hope to be remembered for? 

I hope to be remembered for my joyful, funny, silly personality. I hope that people think back on me and they’re like, Miss Wilcox was so fun, or she was so silly, or she always sang songs, because that’s what I do in class all the time.

What’s on your bucket list? 

I would say that traveling. I want to, like, travel cross country with my family and just camp and see places and see places around the national parks and that kind of stuff.

Favorites

• Food: Steak Tacos

• Song: A life where we work out -by Flatland kalavary and kaytlin butts

• Movie or TV Show: One Tree Hill

• Book:The Hunger Games by Suzzane Collins

• Color: Pink