After 15 years, Sharon Slack is retiring from her dream job teaching culinary and child development at ETHS.

“This is exactly what I wanted to do when I was in college, but there weren’t all that many opportunities for women other than education and nursing in my day, and there weren’t that many openings,” Slack said. “I ended up going a different route, and I was in the food industry. I worked as a clinical dietitian for many years, and then sales and marketing in the food industry.”

When Slack heard about the position of teaching child development and culinary at ETHS, she knew it was the perfect job for her.

“I was tired of all the travel, you know, always trying to make a sales number…. So I went back to school, got my teaching certificate, and lo and behold, here I am.”

Slack said that her favorite thing about working here is definitely the students.

“I love [my students]…  I think they’re funny. It’s interesting to see them learn and grow over time….  I could look at a paper and I can tell if a freshman or a senior wrote that paper. Just by the growth you see, it’s so rapid fire in these four years,” Slack said.

Slack believes her class really has an impact on students’ lives now and in the future. She would like students to learn how to cook and provide for themselves, as well as learn how to raise children and that you have to give 100 percent of yourself to them.

After retiring from her position at ETHS, Slack has big plans for the future.

“Long term, probably two to three years, I hope to move to Florida full time. I have friends that live there, and I’d like to be active in my retirement… so that’s my long- term goal,” Slack said.