HHS teacher Marta Sobey, approaching the end of her first full year teaching mathematics, is someone who managed to incorporate both of her passions in her everyday job.

“I went to Trinity International University and played for the women’s soccer team for four years,” Sobey said. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It was really challenging but also cool to be a college athlete, which is what I wanted to be for a long time.”

Sobey has played soccer since she was very young. Her soccer family supported both her passion for soccer and her desire to be an education major.

“When soccer got tough, I could lean on my academics, and when my academics got tough I could lean on my athletics,” she said. “It was actually a pretty seamless balance for me.”

Sobey had multiple sources influence her desire to teach mathematics.

“In high school I really respected my math teachers,” Sobey said. “And before that, I was homeschooled. My mom was my teacher and I really enjoyed her style of teaching. I wanted to continue that style for other people as well.”

And Sobey ended up doing just that.

“I love it at HHS. The kids are great, the colleagues I have here are great. They’re all really supportive, and it’s a great atmosphere to work in, so that’s been really helpful for my first year.”

She had former connections that allowed her to secure a student teaching position here at HHS.

“I know Mr. Grabner because my dad was close friends with him,” she said. “We reached out to him to see if I could student teach here since I live near here as well. Once I started looking around at other schools I realized that this one was the most innovative school, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Thankfully for the students of HHS, Sobey does not have any plans to leave HHS.