New Life In the Classroom

Storey Allen, Reporter

Sami Thibodeaux is a “go-with-the-flow” type of person. She went to Lamar college and
got her respiratory certificate, but her degree is in applied science. Now, she is West Hardin’s
new biology teacher.

“Ninety-nine percent of the kids I can click with. I love getting to know you guys,” Mrs.
Thibodeaux said.

Mrs. Thibodeaux loves getting to know her students.

“You try to find that one thing with every kid that you can like talk to about what you
have in common or let them know that you care for them,” Mrs. Thibodeaux said.
The most enjoyable part of work at West Hardin for Mrs. Thibodeaux is getting to know
the students.

“[The best part] is, um, getting to know all you kids on a personal level. For the past five
years, I was an assistant principal, and I didn’t really get to do that. I would just see a lot of the
kids, and if I did have to, it was usually because of discipline; it was about something negative,
so I missed teaching,” Mrs.Thibodeaux said.

Mrs. Thibodeaux loves teaching and believes it can be enriching.

“I would tell them it is a very rewarding job, but you have to want to be a teacher cause a
lot of people just go into it to get summers off, and all that they think is so great to have three
months out of the year off and all this. Teaching is the hardest job I’ve ever had but its also the
most rewarding,” Mrs. Thibodeaux said.

Mrs. Thibodeaux used to work in hospitals before being a teacher.

“I’ve done other jobs. I was in the medical field forever. I was a respiratory therapist forever,”
Mrs. Thibodeaux said.

Mrs. Thibodeaux doesn’t recommend being a teacher if you have any uncertainty.

“If you have any doubts about being a teacher don’t, [or] then you know it’s not for you.
And if you want to make any money ever, don’t be a teacher. It has to be imortant to you,” said
Mrs. Thibodeaux