Name to a Face: Holly Harper

Editor's Note: This year the Whitehall School District is losing several well-known and loved staff. For the next few weeks the Name to a Face column will be dedicated to those who will no longer be gracing the hallways of WHS/WMS/WES next semester. We wish them all the best in their retirement!

Holly Harper was born in Seattle, where she received her early education and excelled in many school activities. She loved softball, track, basketball, tennis, band, and choir. Not long after high school graduation she decided to join the United States Air Force, when she became a Russian Linguist. However, life in the military wasn't quite what she had imagined; she was hoping to increase international peace, something that is not so easily accomplished. Having educated herself in several universities, including the University of Arizona, Antioch University, and the University of Washington, she decided to focus her time on another passion. She decided to teach, which lead to a fruitful career as a much beloved teacher in the Whitehall Schools system.

While she originally taught in Seattle, the mountains were calling her name and she found herself in Whitehall where she settled in as an English teacher and the school's librarian.

With library duties she was able to assist students in online courses and introduce them to new ways of learning better suited to the student's skill set; her teaching method of fun and exciting ventures into the world of literary arts were much appreciated by many a student. One of the greatest developments and changes in her teaching career, she said, was the sheer increase in the amount of technology being used and how heavily teachers and students relied upon it. She had begun teaching from a curriculum with no computers and ended in a curriculum emerged in them.

In her years she also handled many a teenage shenanigan with ease, all while keeping her students engaged and interested. Holly's favorite teaching memories are in High School Remedial Reading and Literati. The ability to teach in a small school where she has had more personal interactions with the students has also been something she greatly enjoyed.

After seventeen years in the Whitehall School system Holly is happily retiring. She plans to enjoy the outdoors with her enormous Newfoundland dogs, getting out into the nearby National Forests on foot or horse as much as possible, as she loves the outdoors just as much as a good book.

Holly Harper has always been a great asset to the school, and we all hope that she continues to do the things she loves in retirement. Please remember to thank her for both her military service and her teaching service the next time you see her, as she has changed the world for the better. It may not have been through international peace, but every day you made a difference in someone's life here locally. We appreciate you, Holly!