At two feet long, Cody Cantrell has the longest hair of any high school teacher. While this is surprising, it’s not the only unique thing about him. 

Cantrell has been teaching for a total of five years: four at West Hardin and one at West Brook, but when he was younger, he admits that he never thought he would become a teacher. Instead, he thought that he would “design video games.” Even though he didn’t expect to become a teacher, he enjoys his job. 

Students enjoy the way Cantrell treats them.

“He’s the most understanding teacher here,” senior Brooklynn Howell said.

Cantrell is a nomadic man. 

“I lived in Hull until I was 17, moved to Huntsville to attend Sam Houston for three years, back to Hull for three years, to Liberty for three years, and now I’m back in Hull,” Cantrell said.

While attending Sam Houston, Cantrell decided that he wanted to transfer colleges, so he transferred to Lamar, the place where he graduated from.

 When Cantrell was in college, he did some pretty interesting things.

“I made a lot of music and went to concerts,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell’s students don’t know a few things about him, such as how his gaming experience started as a child. 

“One of my earliest memories is playing Mario, so [I’ve been playing for] a very long time,” Cantrell said. 

Although he used to play games like Mario, these days he plays more advanced games now.

“I play Call of Duty and Battlefield most often, but I enjoy RPGs more,” Cantrell said.

Some of Cantrell’s students aren’t aware of his gaming hobby. 

“No, I didn’t know Cantrell played video games,” senior Eli Fowler said. 

While other students know about Cantrell’s gaming skills. 

“Oh yeah, Cantrell is a beast at games,” senior Morgan Hunt said.

In the meantime, Cantrell enjoys cooking. 

“I really enjoy making curries,” Cantrell said. 

Cantrell’s cooking skills originated when he was younger. 

“My first ‘meal’ was my mom teaching me to make grilled cheese, and I burned it,” Cantrell said.

Some students know about Cantrell’s cooking hobby. 

“Cantrell can do it all…cook as well as BBQ,” Hunt said.

Cantrell even participated in basketball until junior high, but some students don’t know that.  

”No, I never heard about that,” junior Evan Johnson said.

Cantrell has been married for two and a half years. He was 27 when they got married, but now he is 30 years old. Cantrell and his spouse met when they were younger.

“I think I was 15, and she was 14. We never dated until we had both graduated from college,” Cantrell said.

The story of their relationship started as a friendship.

“I knew who she was for a long time, but we became friends in art class when I was a sophomore. It was the same room she teaches in now, and our names are still written on the wall beside each other,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell has a few pets, and he is very close to them. 

“One dog, one cat and one ball python,” Cantrell said. “I think of my pets as my children.”

Cantrell plays calming Lo-fi music in his classroom. 

“I think it’s relaxing for everyone,” Cantrell said. 

Some students love the idea of his Lo-fi music.

“I like the music because it helps me focus and makes me chill out,” sophomore Augustus Cook said.