With a book in one hand and a stack of papers in the other, English teacher Jan Willis spends much of her time in room H-10, imparting knowledge to freshmen, sophomores and seniors alike.

Even though she eventually found her passion in teaching, Willis was frequently involved in athletics during her time as a student.

“I played sports all the time in my childhood,” Willis said. “Football, basketball, volleyball, hurdles … just about everything that I could. Even though I wasn’t very big, and everyone seemed huge to me and I was nervous and broke out in hives when I first started high school … I loved it.”

Willis was also committed to painting and acting. She premiered as a munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz,” and ended her senior year with a performance as the lisping little brother Winthrop Paroo in “The Music Man.”

Growing up, Willis never “had a lot of profanity in [her] family.”  She eventually married a man with a similar background.

“This one time when I was sitting at a dinner table with [my husband’s] parents, I said, ‘Golly!’ and everyone stopped and got real quiet,” Willis said. “We’ve always been quite similar that way … and my husband, well, he’s really become my best friend.”

Now a teacher, Willis aims to instill a desire for “lifelong learning” in her students.

“I want them to come to class to not only do assignments, but more importantly, to enrich their worldview, listen to other people’s opinions and get excited about literature,” Willis said.

Throughout the course of her career, Willis’ favorite book has always been “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“There’s just so much in there about human nature, and honor, and integrity … and so many funny things about people as well,” Willis said. “I like the funny little details that the author gives us.”

Likewise, Willis is fascinated by the eccentric and the strange.

“For example — this is kind of weird — I like to visit odd places, like the Spam Museum in Minnesota,” Willis said. “I also love state fairs, and it’s been a dream of mine to go to all of them.”

Ultimately, Willis believes that her fondness of “To Kill a Mockingbird” correlates with her personal beliefs.

“It’s not so much what somebody does for a living, or how much money he or she makes,” Willis said. “The type of people we are, and how we respond to the people around us … that’s what’s important.”

In all her 19 years of teaching, the most important that Willis has learned is to “not be so hard on [herself].”

“In the classroom, some things work out wonderfully, and some do not,” Willis said. “It creates in me the desire to be better, but not to be so hard on myself that I can’t permit failure.”

According to Willis, everybody has failures — students and teachers included.

“Even though some students don’t get the test grade they want, or they don’t do well on a certain paper, there will always be the ones that keep coming in for help and keep working,” Willis said. “I admire that kind of tenacity in my students … it’s taught me to be more tenacious as well, and to not give up when things don’t turn out as well as I’d like.”