Soul of 78: Heather Harrison

Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher, Dora High

Words by Micah Harrison | Image by Ryan McGill

Heather Harrison is the Meryl Streep of Dora High School. She has been around forever, and she is one of the best there is.

"I started off teaching alongside lots of my former teachers but now I'm teaching with six former students," she says.

Five principals, dozens of teachers, and thousands of students later, Harrison is still going strong.

Raised in Sumiton and a 1993 graduate of Dora High School, Heather never thought she would become a teacher—"I was so shy it wasn't something I ever considered."

She started her college career at Bevill State Community College with the intention of becoming a civil engineer. After receiving a transfer scholarship to the University of Montevallo, she decided to go into education. Her grandmother, Betty Hockensmith, was a supporter of this decision.

"She was the first female principal in Walker County, and she loved her career, so she was excited that I was choosing to teach,” says Heather.

Fresh out of college, Harrison began teaching geometry at Dora High School in 1998. Over the next eighteen years, she taught almost every kind of math that a high school offers.

In 2016, she applied for a new position and became the Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. "I love math, but I was ready for something different,” she says. “FCS is a little more fun and you have more liberty in what you teach."

One of the most enjoyable times was teaching alongside her husband, Jody Harrison. "We were both teaching Algebra 2,” she says. “He had boys and I had girls and it was really competitive."

For the mother of six, teaching her own children has been special, too. She says she was able to be with them in times parents couldn't normally be with their children, so you get a front row seat to their educational life.

Even though teaching was, at times, different than what she expected, she is happy with her career decision. "I've thought about other careers over the years, but if I could go back, I wouldn't change it,” she says.

Heather says her love for her students and her school have kept her teaching this long. She finds joy in seeing her students become successful.

"I love Dora High School and I've never wanted to be anywhere else,” Heather adds. "I think it was God's plan for my life." 78