HIGHLAND — Sarah Woolsey oozes passion about her work.
"I give all of myself, so to speak, to my students," said Woolsey, an English teacher at Lone Peak High School. "It's a privilege and a gift to work with these kids."
That drive to instill a love for learning in her students in the Alpine School District is one of the reasons she was chosen as the Utah County district's Teacher of the Year.
Woolsey, who previously worked as a restaurant manager in Oregon and California, returned to school when she was 30 to earn a master's degree in education.
She's now hit the decade mark as a teacher. And her first job was at American Fork High School.
"I challenged myself and pushed myself to achieve things I didn't know I could do," said Woolsey, who is now chairwoman of the English department at Lone Peak.
She's also been a curriculum leader, served on a committee last year when controversial school boundaries were being debated and is the literacy specialist for the school.
She also was co-creator of an American Studies sophomore honors program, which she teaches with a colleague.
Woolsey, who last year took home Alpine's "You Make a Difference Award," also helped create the high school's academy program — described as a springboard for high school seniors' lifetime of work.
"She's a good role model of what a teacher should be," said Principal Jim Starr.
He described her as a no-nonsense teacher with high expectations for her students but to whom they gravitate.
"She's been a faculty leader since day one," he said. "She's friendly, available and accessible."
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