Taneshia Harris is a mother, friend, educator, and high school administrator at Athens Drive. Harris wants to make an impact on the lives of students and her colleagues along with creating solutions to issues that may arise at school.
“I love people; I love engaging in conversations with students and seeing them realize their potential and seeing their next phase in life unfold,” said Harris.
Harris grew up in Greenville, N.C. When growing up she had her parents to look up to and get a good example from which led to the strong values she has today.
“Both of my parents were educators and oftentimes they had students who could sleep in our home. We were buying coats and food for other children, but we grew up in a community that cared about other people,” said Harris.
The way she grew up reflects how she engages with people now as an administrator; she finds the root of the issues and helps guide students in the right direction. Harris takes the skills she learned from her parents’ example and can show compassion for the students of Athens Drive.
“I enjoy taking the time to [get to] know students; even when it’s discipline related I still try to make sure I find out about the student so we can figure out the why so we won’t keep having the same issues moving forward,” said Harris.
When Harris was younger she didn’t expect to become an educator or an administrator; she originally wanted to be a lawyer and attend law school, but when that didn’t work out she used a lateral entry program to become a teacher.
“I went to North Carolina Central University, but I wasn’t an education major. I did a program called lateral entry to become a teacher. I started at N.C. State but I ended up getting my teaching certificate from Fayetteville State University,” said Harris.
While in school Harris was teaching and going to school at the same time to eventually become a teacher. She taught for 18 years and was an interventional coordinator for three years. With 21 years of experience, Harris went into school administration and landed a job at Athens Drive.
“My motivation is the impact I’ve made on my students and seeing positive differences made in their lives,” said Harris.
Harris sees her old students have families and live their adult lives and use the things she taught them and to her that is the biggest reward.
“Seeing them now understand the things I was trying to say to them when they were students means the world to me,” said Harris.