SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Catherine Lane didn’t just get a new job when Spanish Fort Elementary School slid her into an open third-grade slot last month.

Lane, a Warner Robbins, Ga., native who earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia College and State University, found a new home after teaching 10 years in her home state.

“I thought I was going to be a pediatrician,” she said, but realized quickly blood and guts were not in her future. “I did some volunteer work at a pediatrician’s office and realized it wasn’t for me.”

Her love of children was too strong, however, to choose a career that removed her from that passion completely, so Lane shifted to teaching and has never looked back.

Editor’s Note: New jobs often bring challenges, but in educational settings they can also present opportunities for new arrivals to infuse schools with fresh perspectives and innovative approaches.

This is the fifth in an ongoing series designed to introduce readers to some new faces in the Spanish Fort feeder pattern.

See the rest of this story in the Sept. 15 Spanish Fort Sun—on stands through Sept. 16—and available at the Daphne Bulletin-Spanish Fort Sun office, 1805 Main St., Daphne.