Ryan Glavey
Administrative Executive Editor
One Keene State College alumna was recently named the New Hampshire Teacher of the Year, and is one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Heidi Welch graduated from KSC in 1996, and has taught music at Hillsboro-Deering High School in Hillsboro, N.H. for 14 years. Welch said she knew since middle school that she wanted to be a teacher. She of course did become one, but not in the way she had originally planned.
“I wanted to be an English teacher,” Welch said. Welch said she never intended to teach music. She joined the choir and band at KSC because of Doug Nelson, a professor at the college. “A friend said to me, ‘You’re going to be a music teacher,’” Welch said. She said she initially brushed off the comment, but within the week she decided to pursue a degree in music education.
“She goes beyond the music,” KSC music professor Sandra Howard said. Howard said Welch takes the time to learn about her students.
Howard said she still works with Welch. She has Welch come in to do lectures and brings her students from Hillsboro to KSC. “She creates a family,” Howard said.
Howard was not a professor at KSC while Welch was here, but works with her now.
Howard said she feels Welch’s recognition reflects well on KSC in general and thinks of her as a peer. “She’s teaching us and [as] much as she was taught here,” Howard said. Howard said people tend to generalize when referring to colleges, and is happy KSC has a positive representative like Welch as an alumna. She explained how Welch has gained all kinds of support for her work from her school district.
Welch said she doesn’t know exactly how to take all of the nominations in.
“It’s so surreal to me,” Welch said. She said she knows numerous other teachers that deserve the honor as much as she does, but appreciates that someone took the time to notice what she does and it reflects positively back on KSC as well as her students and her school district.
Howard said the Music Department at KSC has about 100 students; approximately half are music education majors. Welch said she liked the smaller class sizes when and why she enjoyed attending KSC.
“I didn’t want to get lost in the numbers,” Welch said. She said she liked how the faculty was able to know all their students.
She recognized the demanding nature of the music education major, but fully dedicated herself to her studies while at KSC and suggested students to do the same. “Use every minute to learn while you’ve got it,” Welch said.
Howard said the music department as a whole likes to track their alumni and even recognize one each year for their accomplishments.
Welch joins successful KSC alumni of the music department like Rob Westerberg, and Andy Soucy.
Ryan Glavey can be contacted at rglavey@keene-equinox.com