Throughout both State High and Delta, many teachers are having a tremendous impact on students’ lives. One of those teachers is English teacher Kate Hoffman at Delta High School.
Hoffman’s favorite thing about teaching is her excitement about her job.
“Oh my God, I wake up every day. Excited to come to work. Okay. Not every day, most days, 95% of the time. I’m excited to come to work because I get to talk about interesting things…like we get to talk about important things that are happening in the world and unpack them. And talk about what it means and social commentary. And also like when I want to talk about a poem or a book that I liked, I get to. It’s kind of the best job,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman has worked many other jobs, sometimes three or four at a time. These include waitress, golf course landscaper, newspaper night-shift putting inserts in issues, barista, and computer programmer.
Growing up, she wanted to become a farmer, but her plans changed in graduate school while getting an English degree.
“And then when I went to graduate school, I happened into a teaching fellowship and it turns out that I liked teaching a lot more than I liked research. And so, all of my peers were super excited about the research, and I was super excited about the teaching and then I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to keep doing this because I can’t believe I get paid to talk about books,’” Hoffman said.
Hoffman enjoys her job at Delta for many reasons.
“Delta feels a little bit like a family,” she said. “Because you know everybody, but also [Delta’s mission statement] aligns with my own personal philosophy. I think it is important to be part of a community. I think it’s important to be invested in what you’re doing and to show up in the metaphorical sense and in the physical sense. Also Delta gives me a lot of freedom in terms of curriculum, which I think is super important. The small class sizes are amazing and just generally the people are great.”
Outside of school, Hoffman’s hobbies include thrift shopping, antiquing, gardening, baking, eating, reading, and writing. She is currently training for a half marathon, and plays for a softball team, the Banana Sluggers, in the summer.
“We’re terrible,” Hoffman said. “We won one game, but it’s the most fun that I’ve had in a long time.”
As for the future, Hoffman plans to continue her running and writing endeavors.
“I’m doing my half marathon which I’m impressed with, but I did find a full marathon for the fall. So that’s like a personal goal is to just get better at running. Um, I don’t know. I keep wavering about [whether] I want to publish a book of poetry.”
Her current idol is female rugby player Ilona Maher.
“She is the person that I wish I had, when I was in high school as a soccer player. Like, I think she is the epitome of like, grace and brilliance and talent, and, like, absolute comfort with herself, and her capacity to be both strong, and beautiful and brilliant, and funny. And like, I’m just a little bit in love with her,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman described herself as “optimistic, passionate, and hopefully open-minded. I would like to try to be open minded.”
Her students also described her, mentioning similar characteristics.
“Creative…free spirited…driven,” Delta sophomore Megan Wozetek said. Wozetek’s favorite thing about Hoffman as a teacher is that she makes class fun.
Delta senior Luke Marcinkevage described Kate as encouraging, welcoming, and taking of initiative.
“Oh, she is so incredibly good at supporting people and she knows just the right amount to push someone in order to bring out the best in them,” Marcinkevage said.
“I think I never want to be the smartest person in the room because that means I’m not learning anything,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman is a role model for the Delta community, inspiring students with her support, passion, and encouragement every day.
