Marietta Adams retired after 43 years of teaching and taught at Heartland Community Schools for 29 years, Marietta was a teacher from 1979-2022, a total of 43 years.
Throughout Marietta’s teaching career, she taught at two schools. She taught for 14 years at Hayes Center, Nebraska as a K-12 Special Educations teacher, then moved to Henderson where she taught for 29 years at Heartland Community Schools.
“I started at Henderson as the LIFE teacher providing real-life experiences for students 9-12 who were looking more at joining the job force, as our numbers changed, I became the high school teacher helping students prepare for some form of college, my last few years at Heartland I added Junior high to the high school resource program.”
Marietta always knew she wanted to become a teacher, from other teachers had a positive impact on her throughout the years. They inspired her love of reading which caused Marietta to “hunger” for more knowledge.
“I loved reading about the Germanic. Tribes that invaded Europe or presented opportunities to test for unknown substances using test tubes and a Bunsen burner. These teachers motivated me to try and apply my knowledge through hands-on activities and exploring for solutions.”
Marietta knew this was exactly what she wanted to do, inspire other students, and motivated them through knowledge.
“Another reason I decided to become a teacher is my love of interacting with young people. Many students are excited to learn and share their experiences while others need encouragement to show what they know and can do.”
Marietta said it’s been a joy being able to work with many students and their families, seeing the student’s growth over the years is something so rewarding to her.
“It’s been a joy watching students catch on to something they’ve struggled with but finally have the confidence to reach out and try something new. It’s so rewarding to see students mature and find success in their lives after they have moved on from high school.”
After a total of 43 years of teaching Marietta is excited to see everything, retirement has to offer.
“I plan to take time to smell the flowers, I have moved to a little house in Cozad Nebraska with a great backyard. I want to maintain the current plants I have and expand the variety as well.”
Not only is Marietta excited about her retirement she’s also excited to be much closer to family and watch her great nieces and nephews grow up.
“I moved to Cozad to be closer to family, I have two sisters and their families living close, two aunts and many cousins as well as my past foster daughter, her son, and family near me. I will be able to attend my great nieces and nephew’s activities and enjoy their growing up as well as others.”
Marietta has big plans for retirement, outside of spending a lot of time with family she wants to enjoy life and see what the next adventure will be.
“I want to refinish furniture, travel, visit friends, read, work on the family tree, look at collecting stamps again, and get involved with giving back to the community.”
As Marietta reflects back on her time as a teacher, she realizes how much she has learned from her students and from a great profession.
“I have learned that being a teacher is a great profession because you’re working with the future, our students are the adults of tomorrow and we have the opportunity to make a positive difference in their life by treating them with respect, providing them with a safe and caring environment.”
Marietta said there are so many rewards in teaching like a smile from a student when they learn something new or a thank you when you help them finish work.
“I love when a student wants to share what happened over the weekend or what they helped cook in FCS, artwork they created for me, a visit after they graduated and moved away, or staying in touch with students.”
Congratulations to Marietta Adams on 43 years of teaching and wonderful retirement.
