This year, there have been many new additions to the English department, and Ashlea Harman is our focus for this month. Harman teaches English 1. It’s her first year teaching. She graduated from Marshfield High School in 2018, and went to Drury University and graduated in 2022. Before teaching, she was a student teacher at Hillcrest, an employee at the Webster County Library, and also worked at El Charro before it was shut down a few years back. After that, she decided to come work at Marshfield because it’s where she went to school, and she was comforted by the thought that she already knew she would like everyone else in the English department. 

Ashlea Harman wanted to become a teacher to help students that may be struggling, like she did in high school. “When I was in high school, things in my personal life were pretty difficult, and having a trusted adult to get me through the tough times meant a lot. I want to be that trusted adult that students can come to for advice, wisdom, or even a listening ear. The teachers I had in high school made a huge difference in my life, and I want to be able to make a difference in someone else’s.”

When she’s not teaching, Harman likes to read and paint. She prefers to read, but she has painted murals around town and done window paintings. She did most of the painting at the new Mexican place in town, Las Cazuelas. She is getting married in June, and says she’s very excited but also a bit stressed because wedding planning can be pretty difficult.