WHS Teacher of the Year, Anna Setzer

Feature Article by Jordyn Burton, WHS Senior

and Major Contributor to Pam Pack Literary Arts

Everyone has had some change of mind of what they want to do with their future, and for Mrs. Anna Setzer, that change led her to a Teacher of the Year award here at Washington High School.

She began her journey to pursue a career in cosmetology, but changed paths after her experience in her first college biology class. Dissecting her first frog in biology class and seeing the organs function before her eyes, she fell in love with and continued to pursue a degree in Biology at Appalachian State University (which if you’ve known her for longer than 5 minutes, you know she reps this with everything in her from the screen on her cell phone to merch scattered across her classroom). Now, she has been teaching biology for 10 years, at Washington High School, as well as DH Conley, and South Central, with the hope of giving students the same flashbulb moments that inspired her.

Some of her favorite moments of teaching are when she gets to witness students have the same "flashbulb" memories that sparked her love for science, “When it starts making sense; this is really what's going on in the world and themselves.” One of her favorite memories is when an AP Biology student made a perfect 100 on a midterm and thanked her for what she taught them in class.

Though, like any other career, teaching has its challenges. For Setzer, one of the biggest challenges of teaching is absenteeism: “If I can get them in here, I can teach them something. But if a student misses, I can't teach, students get behind, and are constantly playing catch-up.”

After increasing student interest, she has helped implement WHS’s Science Club, where students conduct mini science experiments and participate in various volunteer projects. One of these included traveling to Eastern Elementary to teach kids more about Earth Day. They’re also hoping to volunteer in the Adopt-a-Trash-Trap project for Sound Rivers -- a program to aid in keeping the river litter-free.

Outside of the classroom, some of her favorite things to do are reading and caring for her son, along with the 12 pets she owns. One of the joys she has about her son is “watching him grow up and develop before her eyes.”

Some words of advice she leaves for students: Be engaged in your classes. “The best thing you can do as a student is to come to school and engage yourself in whatever class you’re in. The teacher has taken time to come up with what the students are learning. If you’re engaged, you’re going to learn something.”

WHS Band Director, Kyle Crudup

Feature Article by Janaia Burton, WHS Senior

and Major Contributor to Pam Pack Literary Arts

Washington High School’s band director, Kyle Crudup, has been directing the Pam Pack Band for 7 years, and it’s easy to say that he really enjoys teaching all of its elements, including marching band, concert band, pep band, and jazz band.

Mr. Crudup was inspired to teach band because of his love for music that started in childhood, ignited by listening to the radio, to singing theme songs of TV shows. In middle school, he became active in both the chorus and band at his school. By the time he reached high school, he realized that he wanted to not only pursue a career in band but also teach it. He wanted to inspire others in the same way that his middle and high school teachers inspired him.

What inspired Mr. Crudup to teach at Washington High School was that he wanted a change of pace, and he saw another opportunity to inspire students through instruments. Though Crudup loves it at WHS, being a band director, he admits, comes with struggles. A main struggle he discussed with me was that it’s challenging to find ways to reach every student on a personal level. His favorite aspects of being a band director, however, are seeing people achieve new things and the fun moments that he shares with his students in class.

I also asked Crudup to share some of his favorite memories from teaching at Washington High. It was really hard for him to pinpoint because, as he said, he has so many that he cannot just pick one. After a lot of thought, he said that every year, the band students have surprised him with small birthday celebrations during class. Another memory he shared as a favorite was from the 2021-2022 school year, a group of band students decided to wear polo shirts and khaki pants, dressing just like Crudup. He remembers walking into the classroom and seeing nothing but different versions of himself. It was one of the funniest moments with his students.

Finally, I asked Crudup what he would tell future students who are soon to take his class, and he said, “The most important tool you need in band is your ears.”

WHS Media Coordinator, Mary Katherine Lilley

Feature Article by Jordyn Burton, WHS Senior

and Major Contributor to Pam Pack Literary Arts

Since her own days in high school, Ms. Mary Katherine Lilley, Washington High School Media Coordinator, has enjoyed helping students with English. It all started with Project HEART: a program that lets students “serve as tutors to [students] who are struggling to succeed in core content areas.” This was a major experience that inspired Ms. Lilley to not only get a degree in English Education, but a Master’s in Library Science. She confided, “Getting to interact with different students and different personalities and characters” is something she still enjoys as she helps the many students that come into the WHS Media Center.

Ms. Lilley wears many different hats at WHS. As the Media Coordinator, she keeps us all plugged in, a major undertaking in a world dependent on technology. From students to educators and administrators, she assists with updating computers, problem resolution, referrals, and communication with the central office’s help desk, as well as preparing laptops for testing. Ms. Lilley is crucial to the success of our school.

She teaches Yearbook, where she instructs and assists students in designing our school’s annual publication. She also designed and implemented the Media Technology program, where she has trained a multitude of students in computer technology, giving them the opportunity of employment in the field.

She also leads a variety of extracurriculars, including the newly-implemented Digital Ambassador program, where students get the opportunity to work with people in the community, offering tech assistance and increasing digital literacy.

They travel after school hours to community centers and help the public enhance their computer knowledge. Not only is this a civic engagement opportunity for our students, but it’s paid employment that provides students with real on-the-job experience.

Ms. Lilley is the advisor for WHS’s National Honor Society, where she coordinates all volunteer opportunities, both community and schoolwide, for members to partake in for required credential hours. She revived our highly competitive Battle of the Books program, aiding them in a 2nd place win in their recent competition. She’s an honorary leader in the WHS Pam Pack Writers’ group, helping Mrs. Klakowicz lead activities.

In her free time, you can find her in her garden planting or stitching designs through embroidery. She also helps run a booth on Saturdays at a local farmer’s market in Greenville, NC. She noted that she also has the amazing opportunity to raise her teen daughter alongside her at WHS, who participates actively in WHS’ theatre program.

With many tasks come many challenges, and for Ms. Lilley, there’s a new challenge to face every day. “It’s a surprise every day when you come into school. You start with a plan and have to be willing to veer off in any direction to accommodate what happens during the day."

Some of her favorite teaching memories include a “rewarding experience” at Riverside Middle School in Williamston, NC, where she and a class made blankets and donated them to the local fire department. She reflected on a rewarding experience here at Washington High School, working with the Digital Ambassadors allows her to “go to different places and see students interact with the public and be helpful to the community.”

In compliance with Federal Law, Beaufort County Schools administers all education programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability. Any website concerns may be brought via the following: aklakowicz@beaufort.k12.nc.us

Washington High School 400 Slatestone Road Washington, North Carolina 27889