Melanie Ward, who has been a special education teacher at Santa Fe High since 2020, is looking forward to teaching more in the future.
Ms. Ward stated that she finds enjoyment in her job and is glad she decided to go down this path. “It’s a lot of fun working with the students,” she said. “They’re all great. Collaborating with colleagues is good as well.”
She added, “It is stressful at times, but you know, you work through it. Everyone has been really great with support and everything.”
Ms. Ward says that she enjoys being able to work one on one with students, or in small groups. “I used to be a co-teacher, but now I work as a life skills teacher,” she explained. She also likes the fact that she has been working with some students since their freshman year, and now they are seniors. In a way, she is able to see them grow up.
Ms. Ward attended Western Kentucky University for her undergrad, where she was awarded two bachelor’s degrees, majoring in interdisciplinary studies and health sciences with minors in geography and gerontology. She worked in healthcare for some time, which motivated her to earn a master’s degree in health and wellness promotion at Morehead State University. She says, “I’ve always enjoyed social studies classes and public health classes.”
Ms. Ward grew up in Kentucky. Because she had family in New Mexico, she started to visit here when she was around 6 years old. She realized that she loved the environment, so in 2020, she decided to relocate to New Mexico. She says, “So far I love it here. I’m excited to continue my life here.”
Ms. Ward attended Western Kentucky University for her undergrad, where she was awarded two bachelor’s degrees, majoring in interdisciplinary studies with minors in geography and gerontology. She worked in healthcare for some time, which motivated her to earn a master’s degree in health and wellness at Morehead State University. She says, “I’ve always enjoyed social studies classes and public health classes. That’s why I decided to start doing gerontology studies.”
Ms. Ward explains that a lot of her family were teachers and so that “sparked” her interest in teaching because of the environment she grew up in. “It’s sort of like following in their footsteps,” she said.
“I really like school,” Ms. Ward explained. “I enjoyed college; that’s why I continued to go back and forth between it all. It’s just expensive. But I wouldn’t mind getting another master’s one of these days.”
Ms. Ward’s hobbies include hiking, camping, grilling, and cooking. She explains that she and her boyfriend have three cats, who are somewhat like her own children.
She also enjoys traveling. “I’ve actually been to all 50 states,” she said. ““We traveled a lot when I was a kid, so I was traveling a ton during the summers with my family.” She says that she had made it a goal to reach all 50 states before her 26th birthday in 2019.
