Victoria Messick, Middle School, Teacher

When I was in elementary school, I setup a chalkboard in my bedroom so that I could teach my 3- and 5- year-old siblings math. I could not understand why they were not excited about math; my lessons were only a couple of HOURS long! Luckily, my lessons are quite a bit shorter these days! When I graduated high school, a teaching career was side-tracked by my curiosity of accounting. I went to UNC Chapel Hill, graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration, Concentration in accounting. I passed the CPA exam and worked in both public accounting, private and non-profit accounting for a total of about 15 years. After taking a few years off when my son was born, I became interested in education again. I accepted a position with ABSS teaching 6th grade math while completing UNC Charlotte’s Graduate Certificate in Middle Grades Math Education program. I have one son, almost 21 years old. I also have 4 step-children ages 34 to 40 and 6 grandchildren ages 9 months to 11 years. I love reading fiction thrillers and hiking local trails. I am currently obsessed with future plans of thru hiking the Appalachian Trail to celebrate retirement. I’m researching by reading books and following current hikers’ journeys on YouTube. I love teaching math and helping students build on their prior math knowledge and sometimes correct misunderstandings they have on a concept– those “ahah!” moments are awesome.