Athens Drive welcomed a new Food and Nutrition teacher, Carla Garrison. Many students favor her as a teacher for her engaging and honest way of teaching, especially in a class that teaches real-world knowledge. Garrison is from New York and has been North Carolina teaching in Cumberland County but recently got the opportunity to teach at Athens.
“I love it. I love it, I like it here because we have very knowledgeable students, and the diversity here with the different cultures and ethnicities intrigues me and that’s what brought me here to Athens,” said Garrison.
With Athens Drive being one of the most diverse public high school in Wake County, there are many people with different backgrounds. With that people bring different recipes and levels of knowledge of cooking. Students can often bring recipes from home to teach the class.
“I come from a long line of cooks, my dad was a chef, and he worked in different places over the years, so I’ve always had a love for cooking. I love to cook, and eat, and I love to try new and different things,” said Garrison.
Educators who teach classes about food need a love for cooking to be able to do their job properly as Garrison has.
“Ms. Garrison makes food class fun by allowing us into the kitchen as much as possible and she picks good recipes out,” said Elsa Black, sophomore.
While teaching isn’t the easiest career to pursue, Garrison loves it and plans to continue teaching people how to cook for years to come.
“I try to keep up with younger people, I try to keep up with what’s trending because kids are more likely to do something they see other people doing. There’s so many new food trends and twists,” said Garrison.
Garrison tries to teach stuff that will engage students and make them interested in cooking, but the students aren’t the only ones learning.
“I’m learning right along with the students here. Some of the students here have been cooking since they were very little. They know things about their culture and the way they cook different things that teach me how to be a better teacher and cook,” said Garrison.
Often you can find Garrison asking her students about their culture and the foods they make at home, sometimes asking for a new recipe to learn and make.
“She is always asking me and other students for recipes we make at home or if we know a better recipe for the thing we are going to cook in class,” said Black.
Athens Drive gave Garrison a warm welcome with students adapting quickly to the change of a new teacher midway through the first quarter.
“It was weird having a substitute after substitute, but we finally have a stable teacher who teaches well,” said Black.
Garrison is thankful for this opportunity to work away from home in a new county with new people.
“I just love it over here at Athens Drive. I am so glad they took me in as their new food teacher,” said Garrison.
