Teacher Profile Series: LRHS teacher Andy Williams

In The Journal's Teacher Profile Series, we have met teachers who always wanted to teach. We also met teachers who needed to figure it out in college. Today, we meet Lind-Ritzville High School ag teacher Andy Williams, a teacher who wanted to be a teacher early on, only to change his mind in college. It wasn't until after college that he realized his first calling was his true calling.

"I wanted to be a teacher early on," Williams said. "But I didn't love taking all the education classes. So I changed my mind."

It wasn't long after school that he changed his mind again.

"I had a job at a bank and it was not my thing," Williams said.

Williams grew up in eastern Washington and attended high school in Medical Lake. While there, his experiences in ag classes inspired him to want to become a teacher.

"It was because of my ag teacher," Williams said. "My ag teacher had an influence on me. I was a shy, quiet student. I started some ag classes and FFA and had some real success."

So off he went to WSU, preparing to get a degree in ag education and start teaching. Then, he actually started taking the classes. He said the ag classes focused less on agriculture and more on education.

"I just didn't love the classes," Williams said. "I wanted to learn more about agriculture."

Williams changed his major to ag economics and graduated from WSU. He then started working on his master of business administration at EWU. While working on his MBA, he needed a job, so he applied for a management position at a bank. He was hired as a personal banker.

So, how long did it take him to realize that banking wasn't for him?

"About 10 minutes," Williams answered.

About eight months later, an opportunity to become an ag teacher at the old Lind High School presented itself. Williams was able to get the job by obtaining a Plan II Industry Certification. Now, 15 years later, he hasn't looked back.

He says a big reason he loves his job is his FFA work. He enjoys presenting to his students the same experiences that helped him to grow when he was younger.

"I believe so much in the FFA and what it does for these kids," Williams said. "I think in a lot of ways they won't fully realize all the things they get out of it for five years. But once they start applying for jobs, internships and that kind of stuff, they will see."

FFA used to stand for Future Farmers of America. Now it's just FFA because the skills learned there are meant to help students in a wider range of future opportunities.

"I hate to say this because I'm all about ag, but there's a saying that, "It's not all cows and plows.' I want to focus on ag though. I think the future of agriculture is extremely bright ... So I want to focus on the development of agriculture. But, there are contests and things we teach all the way from job interviews to marketing and business management. Really broad categories that everyone should have some knowledge of."

While Williams is an ag teacher, a lot of what he teaches provides credits in other areas.

"I have a horticulture class that is a third-year science credit," Williams said. "I have an animal science class most years that is a biology credit. Mr. Palmer, one of the other teachers here, has a class that is a physical science credit. Our program has evolved into cross-crediting."

And that's not everything. Students can even earn art credits in some ag classes.

"I teach metal art," Williams said. "And new this year, we have floral design, which is an art credit."

While Williams says he is glad he did end up becoming a teacher, he said his time in banking, however short it may have been, helped shape what he does now.

"I'll tell you this much, I helped people who came into the bank who couldn't handle their finances, or who didn't understand loans and who overdrafted their accounts," Williams said. "That was important, and is a big part of what I teach now."

Williams says his favorite part of being a teacher is seeing the growth in his students both in classes and in participation in FFA events.

"Ag and FFA made me who I am today," Williams said. "I know it can help these kids, too."