English teacher and Spartan alumni Mrs. Christina Lentz was awarded the 2025 Teacher of the Year award on Jan. 16. She has been teaching for 14 years at FHC: eight as an English teacher and six as a special education teacher. She feels grateful for Mrs. Larue’s speech and appreciates how much she has learned from her colleagues.
“Mrs. LaRue, 100 percent, she wrote such a beautiful speech that means more to me than any award. Like her words were — they touched my heart. They were so kind, so genuine, and like it made me cry,” Lentz said. “I am literally nobody without this village, because you learn so much from everyone.”
Finance Administrative Assistant Mrs. Melissa Halloran won the 2025 Support Staff of the Year award, and was nominated by Dr. Leake’s Administrative Assistant Samantha Lytle. She manages critical financial logistics such as regulating teacher budgets and deposits for homecoming and prom.
“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. And so for somebody to just recognize me for that, it just feels good. So I’m grateful,” Halloran said. “It’s motivation to come to work every day. It makes us feel appreciated.”
Senior Edward Wilson has taken Lentz’s classes for multiple years and especially enjoyed her friendliness. Lentz plays games with her classes on “Fun Fridays,” inspired by former English teacher Mrs. Ashley Eiswirth, after a long unit, or before a break to build class camaraderie and let kids be kids. Many students enjoy this break, such as Wilson, who suggested Lentz play Mafia with her classes, and it has been a hit since. Wilson explains how the games are relaxing.
“It really helped break up the lessons being told, rather than just going from one lesson immediately on to the next. Really helped to pace it,” Wilson said. “She’s one of the funnest teachers I’ve had, and she has a really good environment in her classroom that I really enjoy.”
Halloran helped Lytle transition into her new role despite not being required to and overall supported her.
“She has notes from everything to everyone and how everything should be run within the school or admin building. Without her support and constant help, I would not have transitioned so easily,” Lytle said. “Her reliability, commitment, and ability to navigate the complexities of school finance make her an invaluable asset to the school. Spend one day in her office and you would be amazed.”
When Lentz began teaching, she had looked up to teachers like Jennifer Miller, Ashley Mair, Nick Beckmann, and Matthew Schott, and feels especially proud to have been awarded Teacher of the Year because of the honor of receiving immense praise as her role model teachers and colleagues have.
“All of these people who were just great, influential teachers that kids loved and respected, they were getting nominated for these awards. When you do get nominated, you feel this encouragement and honor of, ‘Wow, people see me as the people that I look up to,’” Lentz said. “Feeling the honor of being nominated is in itself way cooler than winning the award. It’s like someone sees you, someone picks you out of the crowd and sees what you’re doing, and they wholeheartedly believe in you, which is really cool.”
Senior Rylie Schaefermeier has had classes with Lentz for two years. After having her for English III, Schaefermeier was a teacher’s assistant (TA) for Lentz and then she took The Novel. Schaefermeier explains how Lentz displays energy during class.
“I love Mrs. Lentz’s class. She is always very energetic, and she makes it a very fun environment to be in,” Schaefermeier said. “She has just always been there for me. I know she’s always there for me. So if I need to talk to somebody, I know I can always go to her.”
Mrs. Lentz’s favorite teaching moment was when a student who was very addicted to drugs wrote her a note and gave her a photograph after graduation when the student had been clean for a year.
“I actually still have that picture somewhere in this room, but it was just a cool moment that I will never forget, like wow, teachers really do have this lasting impression. And if you just listen to kids and you don’t try to give advice… be the teacher, that has a huge impact on them,” Lentz said.
In The Novel, students read five to eight fiction or nonfiction books and analyze them within groups and write essays about them. Schaefermeier explains the class and the positive energy Lentz has while teaching.
“It’s a fun class. I like to read. So it’s fun for me because I get to read a lot, but I just think it’d be fun for anybody,” Schaefermeier said. “I think it’s just the positive energy she has. She just makes it seem very entertaining, whether or not it actually is.”
In fact, part of the reason Wilson took The Novel was because Lentz was teaching it.
“I knew she was the teacher, and I knew that she would have a really good environment to just sit back, read, possibly do research over the author,” Wilson said. “She sets a very good example of balance. It’s good to be educated, but it’s also good to let that sit for a moment before it continues to pick back up.”
Originally, Lentz had dreams of becoming a CEO through DECA programs and classes, but soon she found her passion for teaching partially through her DECA experiences.
“I was like, I’m going to be this boss, CEO lady who’s going to change the world. And then I went and did a few DECA competitions, and I was like, I don’t know that this is for me. Instead, I want to create these people who believe that they can be these big bosses that change this world. I want to teach kids that I see you for who you are. You’re more than a letter grade. Learning isn’t just about getting the grade. There’s so much more to that,” Lentz said.
Lentz said FHC is different from other schools, and her passion is strongly rooted in FHC and its community, as being an alumni has had a huge impact on her love for the school.
“I truly love this building, and I don’t think that I would be the same teacher if I had taught or gotten a job somewhere else. I think that FHC is truly special. Everyone says that, like, when they come and sub and people who come from different schools, it’s just this building is so great. Spartan for life,” Lentz said.
