Adviser

=Foundational support by Joey Leinen = Heather Joy McKay was born March 6, 1974 in Crete, Nebraska. Growing up, she moved 13 times in 13 years, causing an unexpected trait: she never felt like she had stability. In fact, even the thought of moving out of Atlantic makes her queasy. McKay attended high school in Auburn, Nebraska where her favorite subject was actually chemistry. After high school, McKay pursued a career of law at Peru State College before becoming interested in Journalism. After graduating from Peru State, she went to Iowa State University to get her Masters in Educational Administration. McKay began teaching at AHS in 1997 in the English department, including the task of being Journalism Adviser. McKay has been Journalism Adviser ever since. When asked about what her most memorable moment, McKay was torn between her wedding day and the birth of her first child. McKay married Paul McKay, also a teacher, on June 15, 1996. Since then, they have had two boys, Zachary and Devin. She distinctly remembers her funniest classroom moment as the time when a student was dared to crawl out of the window when she was in the office. She returned earlier than expected and caught the student trying to leave and "went crazy." She says that at the time, it was a very bad day, but as time went on, she and her students ended up laughing about it later. The most ridiculous moment in class, she says, was when a student lit a match in her classroom. As some students who witnessed the event described it, McKay "exploded." She is most content teaching juniors and seniors. In any case, she loves teaching Journalism and says, "I believe in the power of student press. I respect students' open minds and always learn from them." In an unrelated note, McKay eats an Oreo cookie by breaking it in half, scraping the icing off with her teeth, and then eating the cookies.