Twist of fate led teacher into class

Christie Gold, the county's teacher of the year, dreamed of working for a magazine. Then she tried the classroom.

By SARAH SCHWEITZER

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001

[Times photo: Thomas M. Goethe] Christie Gold, the county's teacher of the year, teaches English and journalism at Gaither High School. She was chosen from 180 nominees.

TAMPA -- As a girl, the map of her life was bounded by two passions: journalism and horses. She imagined work at a magazine and a home in the country with rolling fields for training thoroughbreds. A career in front of the chalkboard never entered the equation.

But then came a teaching stint, almost by happenstance. And then it just clicked.

"From the first time I walked in the classroom, I knew it felt right," said Christie Gold.

Thursday night, Hillsborough County seconded that thought, naming her teacher of the year. Gold's selection marked the second time in two years that a high school journalism teacher has been named to the title.

Gold, 34, who teaches English and journalism at Gaither High School, was chosen from 180 nominees.

"It is upon her recommendations that my future rests," said Nathan Perez, editor of the Pony Express newspaper at Gaither, in recommending Gold for the honor. "It is her guidance and support that have transformed high school into the time of my life."

As she handed off a bouquet of roses to a colleague after the announcement, Gold smiled broadly and explained the twists of fate that altered the dreams of a little girl.

Gold, a native of Jacksonville, earned a bachelor's degree in English and American literature from the University of South Florida with hopes of heading off to a glossy magazine. On a lark, she tried her hand as a teaching assistant. Almost instantaneously she realized she belonged in the classroom.

In teaching, Gold said, she found a profession that allows her to share her passion for literature and story-telling while serving the community.

"There is no other place where you can be so creative, no other place where no one is breathing down your back, no other place where you can influence the kids' lives," said Gold, who has taught at Gaither for eight years.

She also found love.

Last October, Gold married fellow Gaither teacher Scott Hopkins. They live in Wesley Chapel on 41/2 acres shared with a German Holsteiner and a thoroughbred quarter horse.

Her students say they find inspiration in the instinctive approach she allows in making life's major decisions.

Rebecca Loveridge, 17, a senior who took English from Gold last year and now is the business manager of the Pony Express, was stuck in a college-decision rut last fall. The University of Missouri beckoned with its journalism program, but it was far from home. University of South Florida was but a drive from all she knows.

Enter Gold. "I was scared to go away but she offered to talk to my parents and she gave me confidence," said Loveridge, who will study journalism in Missouri next year.

She hopes to work at a magazine someday.

"She has this way of guiding us, of giving us enough room to grow," said Loveridge.

Other finalists included: Kimberly Jones of Cannella Elementary, Gail Dee Moore of Chiaramonte Elementary, Beverly Sacco of Lithia Springs Elementary, Debbie Mattox of Progress Village Middle, Deborah Larry of Stewart Middle, Dennis Holt of Tampa Bay Technical High School and Linda Winkel of Town & Country Elementary School.

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