Holly Clark, a 1999 graduate of West Genesee High School, was selected by the San Diego County Office of Education as the Inspirational Teacher of the Month for March, beating out 26,000 other nominees for the honor. Clark is the daughter of Ken and Patti Clark of Camillus. Ken taught fifth grade at Van Buren Elementary for 35 years before retiring; Patti drives school bus for West Genesee. “Holly did not always want to be a teacher,” her mother Patti said. After high school, she planned to pursue a career as a travel agent. “We knew that if she ever decided to go into the teaching profession she would be patient with the kids that were having difficulties.” Clark currently teaches fourth grade at King Chavez Arts Academy in San Diego, where she turned a classroom of “difficult” fourth-graders into a group of well-behaved, polite young learners, earning her the distinction of Inspriational Teacher of the Month. Clark has been teaching for just two years at King Chavez, and taught second grade in Arizona for two years prior. Do you know a local graduate who is making a difference, in or out of the community? Let us know! Contact the Eagle Observer at [email protected] or 434-8889 ext. 335.