Marshfield sophomores Sheanayah Landrum, left, and Addy Cabrales listen to their new biology teacher, Chelsey Girt, on the first day of school. Girt joins the Marshfield faculty this fall having graduated from the school in 1996. - World Photo by Alexander Rich

Damian Boudreau, Staff Reporter

Ask what she’d like to accomplish this year, and new Marshfield High School physical science and biology teacher Chelsey Girt just smiles, contemplating. She rested her head on the palm of her hand and stared out a window. With her other hand, she tucked her brown hair behind her ear.

“I’ll know I’m successful at the end of the year when I see them grow into excellent students,” she said.

Girt isn’t new to the area — she graduated from Marshfield in 1996.  And her journey from graduating senior to teacher wasn’t exactly in a straight line.

Girt, 29, attended Southern Oregon University in Ashland where she majored in both biology and biochemistry. After she graduated in December 2001, she worked as a nanny in France, landed a job with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and traveled around Europe.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life,” she said.

That all changed after a call from Marshfield in 2004 — her old science teacher Sheri Maguire was ill and she was asked to substitute.

“What was supposed to be a two-day job ended up being eight weeks,” she said.  

In addition to being a lot longer than she planned, the substitution had an added benefit — it focused the direction of her life. She decided she wanted to continue teaching.  

From there, Girt dove into teaching; she taught high school algebra for several years in Las Vegas and put in one year in Bend.

While working in Las Vegas, Girt learned of Maquire’s retirement. She traveled to Portland for a job fair and applied for a number of jobs, including Maquire’s. Last May she received word that she’d be moving back to Coos Bay to teach.

The fact that she became a teacher is no surprise. It runs in her family. She’s the granddaughter of Marshfield teacher and football coaching legend, Pete Susick. Both of her parents are teachers in Coos Bay. Her father, Fred, teaches math at Sunset Middle School; her mother, Nancy, is a counselor at Blossom Gulch Elementary School.  Despite her family’s background, she insists that her parents never pushed her into teaching. She just fell into it.

“They encouraged me to seek other options,” she said.

She describes her teaching style as non-traditional, with a focus on field trips and giving students hands-on experience. In addition to teaching, Girt coaches Marshfield’s girls volleyball team.

Girt admits that coming back and walking the halls of her old high school after so many years is a little strange. Memories flood back to her continually, she said. One of the biggest challenges is learning to call her former teachers — now colleagues — by their first names.

Despite the initial uneasiness of coming back after so many years, Girt is resolute in her decision to come back to Marshfield High.

“I came back because this is home,” she said. “It’s a great school to work for. The sense of tradition is amazing.”