CNext Blog

Teacher Spotlight

Century Next Bank is finishing up our Ashley County Teacher Feature by highlighting two more wonderful teachers. The teachers and the children have already made 6 weeks into the school year!

Stephanie Johnston is in her 9th year teaching kindergarten at Hamburg and her 20th year overall.  Her entire teaching career has been either kindergarten or first grade.  She chose to become a teacher because she loves kids and wants to make a positive difference in their lives.  Stephanie said that one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is seeing how much her students improve academically throughout the year.  “It is such a good feeling to have former students come up and give me a hug and say how they loved certain activities they did in class,” she said.  While it is a very challenging and demanding job, it is also extremely rewarding.  Stephanie stated that she can't imagine doing anything else, and she is looking forward to this school year and her new group of students.    

Christian McCone is in her second year of teaching.  She is proud to be teaching third grade literacy in the Hamburg School District.  Her son was her inspiration for her to go back to school!  She chose education because she loved watching him learn new things and wanted to help other children do the same.  Her favorite memory is from early last year where a kindergartener walked passed her one morning and turned to come back to hug her!  She had no clue what his name was, but he came back to hug her every morning for the rest of the year.  At that point, they had to learn each other’s names.  From that one hug that he chose to give her, they formed a bond, and Christian said she will never forget that child.  The unconditional love of a child, a kid that chooses kindness, and watching them grow not only physically, but through education are just some of the many reasons Christian loves teaching. 

We are excited to see what is in store for our school districts this year!