Profile: Nicole Carter beyond the classroom walls
“There’s a lot of pain and suffering in the world, and if you don’t have meaning in your own life then how do you even get through all of that, right?”
English teacher, Yearbook Adviser, and overall journalism enthusiast Nicole Carter often thinks about this. For her, teaching is not about checking boxes or chasing impressive resumes for college applications; it’s about helping young people uncover joy, identity and authenticity within their life. That mindset has shaped not only her classroom but the person she has become.
Carter was just 6-years-old when she stood in her aunt’s classroom at Oak Hills Elementary School, carefully pinning decorations to the walls before the school year began.
“My aunt, Chris Lockrey, was my first inspiration to become a teacher,” Carter said. “She still inspires me today.”
Carter experienced her childhood and teenage years locally, graduating from Agoura High School in 2007. Before returning back to the Oak Park area, Carter spent much of her 20s traveling.
Carter moved to Chico for her freshmen year of college before returning to Agoura to finish her AA at Moorpark College. She then transferred to Portland State University in Oregon to pursue her bachelor’s degree in English. While there, she studied abroad in Australia and Guatemala. In between, she took trips across the Pacific Northwest.
“Moving to Portland was the most transformative piece for me, moving away and living my own life and developing my own personhood,” Carter said. “It encouraged me to keep traveling by myself. So all of those places I went to, I went alone, and I had the best time.”
Though Carter has traveled abroad, she has never been to Europe.
“I would want to go to the Swiss Alps, [although] it’s actually not my top priority,” she said. “Everyone just always talks about how much they love Europe, so I feel like I need to check it off my list.”
One of her main dream traveling destinations, however, is Africa.
“I would love to do Africa, like a safari. Oh my gosh, that would be awesome,” Carter said.
Carter always knew that she wanted to teach. The question was only ever what and when. After earning her credential and Masters in Educational Leadership through California Lutheran University, she started her career at Monterey High School in Monterey, CA, teaching ninth, 10th, and 11th grade English.
“That was a big challenge teaching three different English classes in my first year,” Carter said. “After that experience, I knew I wanted to move more towards electives, media and more language-focused [classes] instead of just literature-heavy classes.”
In her second year at Monterey High School, Carter taught English as a second language, yearbook, journalism, and ninth grade English. The following year she stepped completely out of the English classroom and taught ASB, ESL, Yearbook, and Journalism. She did not have prior experience in these classes, but loved the challenge.
“I was like, sure, let’s do it,” Carter said. “And then I kind of fell in love with all those classes because you just get really cool students coming through those programs that are really invested in writing and reading.”
Carter eventually returned to her roots in Conejo Valley and back to her 6-year-old dream from her aunt’s classroom in OHES.
“When I was interviewed for this position at OPHS, I ended up talking about how OPUSD was my first inspiration for wanting to become a teacher and now I’ve come full circle and am right back where I started,” Carter said.
As time went on she explored teaching styles that fit her best. Carter is not the type to stand at the front of the room lecturing. Instead, she prefers to give her English students freedom to collaborate.
“I’m not a big lecturer,” Carter said. ”I don’t like to hear myself talk. I am very much the type of person that’s like, ‘Here are the directions for what I want you guys to do, and now I want you to figure it out together.’ And so that’s how my English classes usually run.”
Her trust in her students shapes how she runs both English and elective classes, encouraging students to push themselves while learning independence.
“In Journalism and Yearbook, it’s honestly a little scary to give up so much control to the students, but when you do, and you actually trust them to do the work, then you see the most incredible stuff come through,” Carter said.
Carter is one of a many OPHS teachers with a demanding, six-period schedule. While the heavy work load brings temporary moments of intense stress, she embraces the challenge and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I really like the challenge,” she said. “I’d be really bored teaching one class all day long. It’s kind of like a double-edged sword because it gets really hectic and stressful, but it keeps things interesting at the same time.”
Taking on so many classes creates the need to prioritize balance in her own life. Especially during periods of extreme stress, she focuses on herself, prioritizing both physical and mental well-being. She embraces journaling, yoga and even tarot readings as ways to reflect and find meaning in both the challenges and joys of daily life.
“Yoga itself is being able to work through the uncomfortable, and breathe through it, and so it’s a parallel to everything else,” she said.
Being able to breathe through the uncomfortable challenges of life is how Carter escapes feeling overwhelmed, as well as setting her own personal boundaries.
“Personal boundaries are tough for anyone. People are always trying to do more than what they’re doing,” she said. “I think that it is helpful if you’re overwhelmed to step back, breathe and recognize that doing your best is enough.”
For Carter, travelling is a way to escape the stress and pressure of the world and learn how to focus on herself and her needs. To wind down, she often enjoys spending time with her dog, Hazel.
“I like to travel a lot and take lots of road trips. My dog and I do everything together,” she said. Carter and Hazel enjoy traveling together to the places where she has previously lived, as she can get there cheaply and easily, and hang out with friends who live there.
Aside from traveling, Carter is also deeply committed to her friends and family.
“I am really invested in other people and I’m curious about other’s stories,” Carter said. “Right now I’m really committed to making sure that the people in my life know that I care about them, and I’m trying to maintain those relationships. For a while, I was just kind of doing my own thing.”
For all us teenagers, Carter advises on appreciating where you’re at right now in life.
“I was pretty chill in high school. I think I was more chill in high school than I am now. I think I would actually tell myself now to be more like my younger self,” Carter said. “Not to take things so seriously and have more fun.”
If Carter could say one thing to her teenage self and other teenagers, it is this:
“Live more in the moment, and don’t get in the weeds about things. Be passionate about everything. You are all completely 100% capable of contributing incredible things to this world. Have the confidence and integrity to do it.”
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