By Derrick Smith

Teachers touch a lot of lives throughout their careers in the classroom. And as the students move out of the classroom and onto other classes, the teachers do not always know what the lasting impact that they made is. Heather Monks says that when she sees her past students, it is something that brings her a lot of joy.

“The thing I love the most about being an educator is the relationships I build and the impact I can have on my students,” she said. “I love when my students come back and tell me the impact my class had on their futures.”

Heather is in her 22nd year of teaching. She currently teaches marketing to ninth through twelfth-grade students at Ponca City High School. She also serves as the advisor for DECA and the National Technical Honor Society. Before teaching at Ponca City she taught at Pioneer Technology Center.

Monks is married to her husband Alan. They have five daughters: Madison, Meghan, Michaela, Macy, and Chandler. They also have two grandchildren: Harper and Jackson.

The teaching bug bit Heather when she was in high school, and it was something that never let go. 

“I wanted to become an educator because I loved my business classes in high school and college,” she said. “I wanted to pass this on to my students. It has always been something I really enjoyed learning and later teaching.”

She has learned a lot throughout her teaching career, and Heather has some advice if there are any prospective teachers out there. 

“The best advice I have for people who may want to become teachers themselves is to give students respect in the same way you expect respect from them.”

Whenever Monks is not in the classroom teaching her students, she enjoys spending time with her family at the lake, traveling, and attending sporting events.