Karen Solberg

• Position: AP World History teacher
• Degrees & Alma Mater: bachelor’s in history; University of Houston
• School Activities: Sponsor of AP Ambassadors & UIL Social Studies
• Years at Caney Creek: 28
• Years Teaching: 28

How would other people describe your high-school self?

Kind of a nerd? Very self righteous. I think I’ve improved as a person.

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

When I got to college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. That was pretty much in the back of my mind, but at one point I thought I was going to be like a TV news anchor or a radio DJ.

Tell us about how you got into teaching.

I always really liked school and I liked all my teachers, but when I got into college I never really knew what I wanted to teach. I had a history professor that just told it like a story and I went “That’s what I want to teach,” but it all stemmed back to just the fact that I liked school a lot.

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

I love to watch sports a lot and I love to travel. Anytime I can get out and travel anywhere, that’s what I like to do. My family’s gone camping before, we like to take road trips a lot, and I like to play trivia games.

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

That I’m not a teacher all the time and that I’m just a normal person.

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

I’m proud that I still love my job, that I’ve never let myself get to a point where I’m miserable coming to work, and I’m proud that even as challenging as school is I make it enjoyable every day, and I’m just proud that my kids turned out to be normal, and as annoying as they are they’re going to be good people growing up so I’m proud of that.

Who is someone you are thankful for and why?

I am thankful for all of my students because they are kind and they truly remind me why I’m doing this. I’m also thankful for my mom because my mom, who is no longer with us, she just always taught me to be a kind person and to be nice and if you’re kind and you’re nice that’s really the main thing to do, so I’m very thankful that she taught me that and raised me that way.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t be so worked up about everything, breathe. Don’t take stuff so seriously and try to see the big picture more than I ever did when I was a kid. That means a lot.

What do you hope to be remembered for?

Being a kind person, being a nice person that cared about people and tried to do the right thing as often as possible.

What’s on your bucket list? (If needed) What aspirations do you have for the future?

If I could do one thing, I’d like to take a really long cruise around the world. I’d like to take six months and just go to different continents. That would be fun.

Favorites

• Food: french fries & macaroni and cheese
• Restaurant: Any Mexican restaurant
• Music: Any ‘80s classic rock, pop, or country music
• TV Show: “The Office” or “Seinfeld”
• Movie: “The Shawshank Redemption”
• Book: “Tess of the d’Urbevilles” by Thomas Hardy, “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, or “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
• Teacher: Her high school theater teachers Mr. Hart and Ms. Green