Last year, there was an amazing yearbook, outstanding UIL achievements, the start of a school newspaper, and a rollerskating club. This year, it’s the start of another fantastic yearbook, a school newspaper with eye-catching stories, and more accomplishments to be made for UIL, but the next semester will not be the same. Although the goals for these classes and extracurriculars will remain the same, everything else will be different. Lela Walker is the reason the yearbook has soared above expectations and will continue to do so, the reason we have a school newspaper in the first place, and the reason that the rest of the year will be so different without her, as she moves on to a new job. 

“Mrs. Walker has taught me everything I know and I’m glad we got to share a yearbook journey together, even if it was only for a year and a half,” senior yearbook editor Victoria Cerna said. “It has been an honor to have her as yearbook advisor and UIL coach, but she’s also more than that. I know that I could count on her for anything, yearbook related or not, and I’m really grateful for that.”

Walker has not only been an amazing teacher, ensuring that what needs to be done gets done, but also making sure everyone feels safe and at home in her classes. 

“Going into yearbook, I was excited to have a class with my cousin and like some, thought it’d be a chill period,” senior yearbook staffer Kalianah Rodriguez said. “Little did I know I’d grow a really good relationship with Mrs. Walker. If there’s one thing having Mrs. Walker as my yearbook teacher taught me it was patience. Although she was constantly pushing for deadlines and perfection, she always knew how to be patient and calm with all of us. I’m definitely going to miss her patience and of course, without a doubt my random conversations with her just to get out of doing work.”

Walker is moving on from teaching to be a project manager at UT, and all her students wish her luck and know she will do great at all the things she does, wherever she goes. 

“I feel bad she’s leaving, but at the same time I’m so proud of her,” sophomore newspaper staffer Rachel Oates said. “She seems really excited about the project manager job. She is pursuing what she wants to do, and that is the best thing you can do in life.”

It is rare to come by teachers that can be good at teaching while also being passionate about it, and really caring about the subject and students, but Walker defies the odds. 

“She really cares about and loves yearbook, and that attitude is so contagious,” senior yearbook editor Ava Swanson said. “It’s a large part of what allowed us to put out such a good book last year, and it’s been helping us develop this year’s book as well. I’m going to miss her as our teacher, and I definitely think the rest of her classes will too.”

Even the staff that only had Walker as a teacher for this half of the year agreed that she was a great teacher, and she helped as much as she could. 

“She is super lenient with me, even though I was a little late with work she helped me do it,” newspaper staff Ryan Sheely said. “I’m gonna miss how helpful she was, and how cool of a teacher she was. Not many teachers make a group chat with her students, she actually cares about us.”

The general consensus for Walker is that she was a great teacher, she will be missed, and she cannot be replaced, and all the staff can ensure that is true.

“Mrs. Walker has really helped me out, and she has specifically helped me improve in UIL,” sophomore newspaper staff Danielle Moreno said. “Being around her, she would make learning about journalism interesting and really fun, and it made me love journalism and being in her classes.”