T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Taylor Smith is a fourth-grade teacher at West Marshall Intermediate School in State Center.

Meet Taylor Smith, fourth-grade teacher of literacy and math at West Marshall Intermediate School in State Center.

This is her third year teaching at West Marshall. She did her student teaching there before she graduated from college, so Smith said it made an easy transition. She taught third grade during her first year with the district. Last year, Smith began a before and after school program and she is also the Trojan 6-6 supervisor.

Smith, 25, grew up in Pershing. She received her degree in elementary education from Iowa State University in Ames with reading and math endorsements.

Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher:

A: There are so many reasons that I decided to become a teacher. I can remember playing school growing up and I was always wanting to help my teachers do things in our classroom. I had fantastic teachers throughout my school years that inspired me to become a teacher.

Q: What is it like being a teacher at West Marshall?

A: I love teaching at West Marshall. I have very supportive administrators and awesome colleagues. The students are pretty great, too.

Q: What are the best aspects of your job?

A: The best aspect of my job is seeing student improvement from day to day. I love seeing the look on a student’s face when something “clicks” with them. I also enjoy building relationships with students so that they know that I care about them and their success.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you face?

A: The biggest challenge that I face daily is time. I am always wishing that I had more time — whether that be time for more content to be taught or time to conference with more students.

Q: What do you want readers to know about your job, the school, the district, etc.?

A: I love my job. I think we are doing great things at West Marshall and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: In my spare time, I like to go to sporting events, spend time with friends and family and go shopping.