It was the beginning.

The beginning of the day, the beginning of the year, the beginning of a career.

He arrives at school an hour early, returning to the place where he use to walk the halls as a student. In is classroom, he prepares for the day, trying to make sure everything will go as planned.

The bell rings. He stands by the door and anxiously waits for his students to enter.

Sophomore English teacher, Bradley Karnes, is no stranger to this campus, but even as a former student and substitute of the school, he admits he was incredibly nervous for his first day as a teacher.

“I didn’t sleep much the night before,” Karnes said. “Fortunately, the day went smoothly, I didn’t bumble too much and by the end of the day I had gained a moderate amount of confidence.”

At an early age, Karnes found a love for reading and analyzing literature when he saw “The Lord of the Rings,” prompting him to read the entire trilogy. Aside from his natural passion for English, numerous teachers throughout his life also inspired him.

“Teaching is in my blood. Four of my family members are teachers, so I grew up around the profession,” Karnes said. “I also had a couple of influential teachers in both high school and college that really passed on the bug of teaching and their love of literature.”

Encouraging his students to take the skills they learn from his class and apply it to the books and movies they enjoy, Karnes wants his students to understand that literature and writing can be fun and useful.

“Mr. Karnes is a very thorough teacher,” sophomore Devonte Jones said. “He taught me to work over and beyond—to not only understand the surface but to go in depth.”

For Karnes, this year has been an ongoing process that has taught him to be adaptive and also believes that when one finds what they are passionate about, life simplifies and they should spend their time following that passion.

“I always let my students know that English was my worst class in high school,” Karnes said. “They always think that’s weird and unusual, but the truth of the matter is, that all it takes is one teacher, one class or one lecture to influence someone to change.”