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By Mandy Haggerson
For the Clemmons Courier

Anna Huff grew up in Statesville enjoying anything and everything active and outside. As an only child, she took advantage of quality time with her father who was an avid outdoorsman. “We’d go fishing, and I enjoyed getting that time with him,” Huff said. “My parents also encouraged me to try different sports like softball, basketball, volleyball and running track. Sports was a great way to make friends too.”

Never one to shy away from stepping outside of her comfort zone, Huff decided to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). “There was only one other person from my high school that went to UNCW, so I was looking forward to trying something new without much of a safety net,” Huff said. “I had initially considered communications for my major, however towards the middle of my sophomore year I switched to education. There was something about elementary education that was appealing to me, and I wanted to focus on teaching the younger ages. When I helped in the classroom during college it was always with first and second grade-aged children and I just loved it.”

Towards the end of college, Huff met her future husband, Wes. “We had met when we were hanging out with friends in Wrightsville Beach. Wes was just in town for that weekend, so we started a long-distance relationship for eight months,” recalls Huff. “He was from the Winston-Salem area, so I knew that once we got married, we’d end up living here.” In 2004, after graduation, Huff got her first teaching job at Sedge Garden Elementary School in Kernersville. “I was fortunate that Wes had a colleague at his job who connected me with someone in the school system. I started teaching first grade for my first two years at Sedge Garden, and then have been teaching second grade ever since.”

Huff realized how changing majors and careers turned out to be exactly what she had hoped for. “What I love most about teaching is seeing the children’s faces when they get a concept that didn’t necessarily come easily. Their faces light up when they conquer a challenge and stick with it,” Huff said.

Huff always knew that in addition to teaching other children, she would want to have her own. Their oldest child, Carter, was born in 2008. “I started working part time once he was born. With driving back and forth it got to be a lot, and I wanted to make sure I was there for my own children too,” Huff said. Daughters Finley (11) and Sutton (8) were added to the family several years later. “Being an only child, I knew that I wanted a big family,” mentions Huff. “One of the benefits of being a teacher is the flexibility of having holidays and summers off. They line up with my own children’s vacation and that is very helpful.”

Huff also began working as a second grade teacher at Sherwood Elementary School seven years ago. “Being closer to home was very advantageous with getting my own children places. Especially now that they have a lot more activities from swimming to soccer, there is always something,” Huff said with a laugh. “We also enjoy as a family watching sporting events. We have tried to get to as many Carolina games as possible. As the kids continue to get older it’s been such a fun adventure getting to help these little people become the best versions of themselves and kind humans. It’s the biggest reward a parent can ask for.”