The Amherst school district is very fortunate to have an incredibly dedicated and involved Spanish teacher, Profe Van Sluys. Most students call her, “Profe.” Profe Van Sluys is one of our local Spanish teachers in Amherst. Profe teaches students from 7th grade to 9th grade. Not only is Profe Van Sluys a teacher, she is also a coach for both cross country and track.

Profe Van Sluys  became a teacher because she had very influential people in her life and many of those people were teachers. She wanted to be a positive role model for others as well, and thought the best oppo-

rtunity for that was teaching. She finds she also has this same impact and connection in her coaching. 

At first, Profe wasn’t sure what subject she wanted to teach. Profe student-taught both Spanish and science, but stated, “Spanish always came easier.” The ease with which she teaches can be seen in the first picture where she shows her class connection words in Spanish. Although Profe loves teaching, if she were to change careers, she would use her Spanish skills in a physical therapy setting rather than in a school.  In the future, Profe may even consider going to school for an advanced degree because as she says, “you can never stop learning.”

 One of Profes’ passions outside of school is running. Profe Van Sluys has been running since she was very young. She ran with her mom who was also a runner and fell in love with it. She then ran in middle school, joining both cross country and track, where she flourished. Her coaches were assuring and, when necessary, consoling, which inspired her to to be the coach she is today. The other reason she coaches is to have an extra layer of connection with her students that she gets by seeing them after school. This allows h

-er to understand and be there for her students in more ways than just teaching alone. Her joy for coaching is on full display with her huge smile in the second photo as she leads her team in warmups.

The final photo of Profe illustrates the many aspects of who she is. Directing your attention to the bottom of the photo, you see Profe Van Sluys standing in her classroom with two sets of shoes on either side of her. The shoes she wears are her teaching shoes, which she wears when teaching Spanish to her students. The shoes on the left are her coaching shoes, with which she runs and warms up with the team as a coach.  The shoes to the right are her adventure shoes, where she lives her life separate from school and coaching. Adventuring takes her hiking up north and spending time with her family harvesting maple syrup.

Profe Van Sluys is an amazing and dedicated teacher who touches the lives of her students everyday, not just as a teacher but also as a coach and a person. She was inspired to be i

nfluential and caring in other people’s lives, just like her teachers were for her. Profe is generally a very positive and optimistic person. It’s not surprising when asked for her best advice for students Profe said, “Just because today was bad doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t be better.”