Barbie is known to have lived numerous lives, and worked hundreds of careers. Many people know from the beginning what they are meant to do with their life. Kelly Huff proves that sometimes you have to try everything before you find your calling.
Born in upstate New York, and brought up all over the country, Dr. Huff recently joined Briar Woods where she now inspires young minds in English 11 honors and English 12 dual enrollment.
She says that looking back, she can reflect that she chose the teaching path because of her English teacher in high school who inspired her to do the job better than he could. Prior to this realization, however, Dr. Huff did her undergraduate at Virginia Tech where she switched her major three times. She started off being a physical therapy major, but quickly came to the realization that it was not for her.
“I realized I had to touch people’s feet. That is literally what did it. I was like, this is gross,” she said.
She then made a drastic change to industrial organizational psychology, but found out she had to live in more urban areas for it to be lucrative. Dr. Huff may not have known what she wanted to major in, but she knew who she was at heart. She says that she could not imagine herself living in a big city; she loves nature and the outdoors, and wanted to be somewhere with a lot of access to that. Even in her free time, she says you can find her in her garden, hiking, or reading a book outside.
Dr. Huff took a short detour to pursue her interest in law, where she took and passed the LSAT, and spent time in law school at George Mason. A semester later, she decided it was not for her. Dr. Huff explains that she has always loved writing, reading and English, but her breakthrough happened when she took a creative writing course with poet laureate Nikki Giovanni.
Giovanni asked her what her major was. She replied, and Giovanni said: “You’re a writer. Why are you doing anything else?”
Dr. Huff then decided to major in English and pursue her licensure to become a teacher.
“And I haven’t looked back,” Dr. Huff says. “I love it so much. I really get to make an impact on these students and I do that by using my teaching style. It’s called transformational.” She explains that she practices a student centered philosophy where she facilitates and gives students the tools to learn and succeed, and they build off of that. Her goal is to build capacity in her students, so they can continue growing with the knowledge, and be successful in the future. She likes to incorporate her own personal experiences with English and learning into her classroom by creating a comfortable environment where her students feel safe.
Campbell Young, one of her senior students, says that “it’s so refreshing to have a teacher who is so passionate about her job.” She elaborates: “You can just tell she cares about her students because she takes the time to get to know every student personally and individually.”
Dr. Huff says she understands high school students. She says that if she had to give them one piece of advice, it would be to learn who they are.
“If there are things you don’t like about yourself, then work on it. If there are things you do like, then just be authentically you.”
The advice she gives others all stem from her life experiences. She’s lived a life of many changes, including environmental changes. During her childhood, Dr. Huff moved numerous times since her father worked for NASA; she says it was very “military- like.” A result of these moves was her realizing the one stable aspect of her life was who she was. She wishes she had tried to learn earlier who she was, though she now knows that she is a transparent and authentic person, and feels that resonates with students because they know they can come talk to her and they know they’re going to get the same person every time.
“She’s really open minded and understanding, which makes her class such a comfortable and safe environment,” says Nina Stummer, another one of her senior students.
In her classroom, Dr Huff encourages her students to embrace their unique journeys and never be afraid of change. Her journey, much like Barbie’s myriad of careers, is a testament to the idea that finding one’s passion often involves a winding path filled with diverse experiences.
