Deftly navigating the halls filled with students on her way to room 181, a feeling of déjà-vu hits Kathleen Hollas. Hollas is the first school alumna to return as a teacher.

“Ever since I was little I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Hollas said. “Surprisingly, I thought I’d return to the school because I grew up here in Spring and have always been the kind to want to be close to home. I like familiarity, so what is more familiar than going back to my own school?”

Hollas believes the hardest part about viewing her former teachers as colleagues is remembering to call them by their first name rather than Mr. or Mrs. and she finds it strange that they remember her.

“I was an average student, I played softball and that was my life,” she said. “I always completed my work and did what I needed to do to get good grades, I was always quiet and never acted out, I really kept to myself in class. When I run into my teachers in the halls they look at me like ‘what are you doing here?’ and when I inform them that I work here now they always tell me that I make them feel old.”

Hollas looks back on her first day of freshman year when geography teacher Andrew Grimm scared her to death about going to softball class and admits it is one of her favorite stories to tell. Fellow English teacher Mike Del Donno, who taught Hollas during her high school days, describes her as the type of student who was dependent, driven and expected to succeed.

“She knew what she wanted to do with her life, which is good because I would say less than half of seniors really have a good feel for what direction they want to go in,” he said. “You could just tell she did and I think it’s wonderful that she is a part of this staff.”

Student Daniel Wiseman commends his teacher for wanting new generations to enjoy school and English as much as she did.

“Ms. Hollas is really nice and very relatable since she was a student here, she knows protocol and can use that to her advantage which is partly what makes her such a good teacher.”

Hollas feels extremely grateful for the help everyone around the school has provided her in adjusting to her new role.

“The people I get to work with every day are my favorite part of being a teacher here,” Hollas said. “Not just the teachers but the students too, whether it is from the teachers or students I am constantly learning new things.”