Throughout the years, our teachers have continued to work relentlessly to make sure students receive the best education possible. But did these influential people in our lives always want to be the great teachers they are?

History teacher Kealakekua Moa has been working in education for eight years. He first started around 2017, by mentoring troubled students and later became a long-term substitute teacher. It is now his first year at MCHS.

“I wanted to be a National Geographic photographer to travel the world and take photos,” Moa said.

Moa continues to explain how his love for photography was soon diminished by his father’s traditional way of thinking.

“My dad is real old school, and pretty much the arts was kind of like out, because it wasn’t a consistent income, and he wanted me to take over his business, which was HVAC…if it didn’t involve engineering, he wasn’t happy about it,” Moa said.

Unfortunately for him, the engineering plan did not take off.

“I just went into mechanical engineering, and I did really well in most of my classes, except for the math aspect,” Moa said.

This poor performance in mathematics left Moa depressed and rethinking his pathway, until he found a sense of purpose that would change his life.

“My favorite class in high school was actually history. I had this history teacher for four years in a row. I had her twice for history and then twice for academic mentorship, where she requested me to be a mentor for students that were struggling in school, particularly your misbehaving students on the verge of being kicked out of school. And so I did that for two years in a row, and loved it,” Moa said.

Moa decided that his long-held passion for history and helping students would guide him on his path. Not only this, but he laid the foundation for his teaching career.

“Building those relationships with my kids, and also being that light for them, that joy or that safe place, that loving place that they can go and just be,” Moa said.

Making these connections has helped many students at MCHS. Similarly, another impactful teacher is Amy Holte, an AVID teacher who has been in education for 20 years, including roles at Mendez, the district office, and as an assistant principal, until she found her spot in MCHS, where she has been teaching for six years.

“I wanted to be a marine biologist. I wanted to live on a boat and study sharks,” Holte said.

This interest in marine biology started in her early years.

“My grandparents used to always take us to aquariums in the zoo and even like Sea World and things like that. And I was very enamored with the ocean and the animals inside the ocean, definitely whales and also sharks, I just thought they were just fascinating creatures,” Holte said

Later in life, Holte came to learn an unpleasant truth.

“I took my very first class on fish, and I didn’t do particularly well; it was a really boring class. It was just straight memorization,” Holte said.

Not only this, but Holte adds how the lack of mentors affected her school performance.

“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have anybody guiding me…when you’re a young person with no mentorship, you don’t really know what the next step is going to be,” Holte said.

Like Moa, Holte evaluates her pathway once again while acknowledging her previous experiences.

“A lot of my volunteer work was always with kids. In high school I was a tutor at the library for elementary kids. I coached a soccer team for elementary kids. I taught swimming lessons…Then in my internship in college, I worked at the Watershed Resource Center so I would teach these kids about the watershed in Santa Barbara and I loved all of that,” Holte said.

The lessons Holte learned allowed her to help others and give students what she didn’t have.

“Opening doors for you guys. That is my favorite part. I love matching students to internships and opportunities, and helping them navigate their path,” Holte said.

For Moa and Holte, having these special connections and making sure they have proper guidance is what drives them to be the teachers they are today.

Moa’s and Holte’s drive to make sure their students have a comfortable environment and proper mentorship has fostered a sense of belonging for many.

Students at MCHS such as sophomore Jose Najera and junior Anali Garcia share their opinion on these teachers.

Najera feels that Moa is able to remove the stress from learning.

“I think Moa is chill and a great teacher,” Najera said.

Similarly, Garcia adds how she feels about the connection between student and teacher.

“Overall, I’d say [Ms. Holte’s] a great teacher and someone you can really talk to. She’s always been there, pushing me to be the best me I can be,” Garcia said.