On the crisp January afternoon almost done with her day, Macy Stovall, a World History teacher at Lambert, spoke to us about being a Lambert alumna, her first year as a teacher and the welcoming atmosphere that Lambert provides. 

Ms. Stovall has lived most of her life in Forsyth County and feels that her heart has always belonged here. As a former Lambert student, Ms. Stovall has a special connection with the community and the school. She has always loved school and learning, so becoming a teacher further expanded her passion. 

“I’ve always wanted to teach,” Ms. Stovall said with a smile.

Last school year, Ms. Stovall taught World History to sophomores, but this year she is teaching World History and Honors World History with three in-person classes and two virtual. The new virtual teaching platform has proven to be tricky for teachers and students all over the world, but Ms. Stovall has chosen to focus on the positives and keep an optimistic point of view. 

Ms. Stovall’s first year presented few challenges. The hardest part of her first year as a teacher was balancing work and coaching. Along with teaching, Ms. Stovall coaches softball and currently coaches JV Girls Lacrosse. Ms. Stovall would be at the softball fields until after 10 p.m. and would be exhausted the next day. She said this helped better her time management skills and once she was able to manage her schedule, her first year was a breeze! 

“The [administration] is so supportive and the people I work around are so supportive of everything that I could need that I feel like I got to skip a lot of the first year troubles that some people have,” Ms. Stovall said. 

Going from a student to a teacher presented a big challenge for Ms. Stovall: former teachers becoming coworkers. Stovall says that she still respects them in the same manner she did as a student, therefore,she cannot address her coworkers by their first names. Not only is it challenging in regards to  her now coworkers, but it is also challenging in regards to her students.  Teachers who are as young as Ms. Stovall face the conflict of students acting more freely due to the small age gap. While it may be harder to maintain an authoritative figure to her students, she understands that there is a time for fun, but the main focus should always be learning and getting something out of school.

“Their commitment matters, their integrity matters, their feelings matter,” Ms. Stovall stated.

Throughout the year and a half that Ms. Stovall has been teaching, she has learned a tremendous amount about herself and what it is like on the other side of the desk. As she recalls her first year, she can proudly say that there is always more growth to do as a teacher. She expressed that one of her favorite moments from her first year of teaching was her birthday when students took time to celebrate her.

“The fact that kids go out of the way to like celebrate me…it’s the little things when a kid brings you like a piece of candy or something and [they say] ‘we just thought of you and wanted to give you something,’” Ms. Stovall expressed.

As time goes on Ms. Stovall would love to branch out in terms of extracurriculars, but in terms of life, her heart will always belong to Lambert.