She stares at the opponent in front of her, remembering all the moves and tricks she learned from the previous day. With speed and precision, she makes a move and pins her opponent to the wrestling mat.

Before Kelly Woll became an English teacher, she was training to become a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler.

“My brother and I used to watch WWF [World Wrestling Federation] before it was WWE all the time as kids,” Woll said. “I was fascinated by how powerful the women were and dreamt of being like them one day. I never took the dream seriously until after I graduated college.”

While training to be a wrestler, Woll also worked to get her certificate in teaching.

“I did not like very many of my teachers,” Woll said. “So I thought I could make more students interested in English by becoming a teacher and being enthusiastic about it.”

In 2010, Woll was involved in a car accident, which led to having a titanium rod inserted in her leg. The injury eventually caused Woll to stop training because of her constant pains, but Woll said the experience was still a positive one.

“The training showed me just how much pain I could still feel with my leg, and I realized there was no way that I could put up with it, so I had to quit,” Woll said. “This was the best thing that ever happened to me, because they asked me to come back and be a backstage interviewer for Booker T’s training facilities’ show, ‘The Reality of Wrestling.’ I still got to be involved and see everyone I had connected with, which was a dream come true.”

Along with Woll, who still watches wrestling to this day, senior John Trahan-Thomas is interested in the WWE and said he is happy to share something in common with his teacher.

“I think it’s cool that Ms. Woll trained to be a wrestler,” Trahan-Thomas said. “She’s different from all the other English teachers I’ve had. It’s intriguing that I can talk about wrestling, which was a big part of my childhood, with my English teacher.”

Senior Bryant Jones is impressed by Woll’s training.

“When I was a kid, I used to daydream about being a wrestler,” Jones said. “The fact that a teacher trained to be one blows my mind.”

While Woll enjoys both wresting and teaching, she overall prefers teaching.

“I like teaching more, because I actually see the people that I can have an impact on,” Woll said. “I know wrestlers make a difference for some kids, but they do not always get to meet the kids. I get to interact with my students every day.”