Have you ever wondered what your teachers were like before they became your teacher? Have you ever wondered if they were always teachers? It’s hard to imagine someone you see every day in the classroom doing something other than but many  teachers at VHS were not always teachers.

“I never thought about being a teacher,” said VHS graphics teacher Helene McKelvey. So what exactly led to her current career? While in college, she worked at a toy packaging company as an intern, designing logos. She also worked in the University of Pennsylvania design department as well as a direct marketing company. But it was after 9/11 that she had decided she didn’t want to work in an office anymore. She wasn’t really sure where she wanted to go from there but, after talking to her mom she decided that teaching might be the right fit for her. So after she went and got her teaching degree, she came to VHS where she now teaches graphics. Teaching isn’t her only job though; she also does freelance jobs on the side and is working on a children’s book.

Before he was a math teacher, math teacher Bob Cashill had many jobs. After graduating from Virginia Tech with a master’s degree in engineering, Mr. Cashill got a job at ExxonMobil. There he worked as an operations analyst, warehouse supervisor, industrial salesman, real estate appraiser, and employee relations specialist in New Jersey, New York, and Texas. After his time with ExxonMobil, he moved with his family to Saudi Arabia to work for the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. For eight years, Mr. Cashill worked as an engineer doing various operations.

“I got to travel the world and make a few bucks,” he says of this period of his life. With all of his earnings, he was able to be one of the few people who can say that they sent their children to college completely debt free. After being given an early retirement from Exxonmobil, he decided to become a teacher since he knew he was good with kids from his experience as a coach. Mr. Cashill loves his new career and doesn’t plan on changing it any time soon, “I feel like Peter Pan; I never grew old,” he added.

Like many high school students today, many teachers at VHS started off working in the food industry to make quick money. Physical Education teacher, Trish Hemsley-Cartotto spent some of her early years working in an ice cream shop.  Business teacher Angela Salisbury worked in a pizzeria for most of her teenage years. Although they got their start in local food and dessert places, they said they both knew that a career in education was right for them.

Ms. Hemsley-Cartotto started her college education wanting to be an elementary school teacher. It wasn’t until her sophomore year that she realized health and physical education was where her real passion lies. Right out of college, she was able to find a job at VHS as a long-term sub that eventually turned into a full time job that she still enjoys today.

Most students here at VHS most likely assumed that their teachers have always been teaching in the same classroom with the same curriculum every single day for just about forever. Imagining teachers doing something other than teaching such as creating logos for toys, engineering in Saudi Arabia, or working in a local pizzeria or ice cream shop will never allow you to look at them the same way again.