For some people, settling on a major and getting through college takes a little longer than expected.

     But 2007 Lawrence County High School Valedictorian Misty Carney Grubbs was on the express train. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from William Carey College in three years and finished her master’s in just one more.

     While she was working on her master’s, Grubbs started teaching junior high math at Tylertown High School in August of 2010. She said she enjoys teaching her group of students because she feels she can relate to them.

     “There is some age gap between me and the students, but I feel in some ways I understand where they come from better because I’ve been where they are more recently,” she said.

     Grubbs said she was able to get through college quickly because she took dual enrollment classes online while in high school. She also went to summer school every summer while in college.

     She said she knew what she needed to do to finish, so she did it.

     “I knew what I need to do to earn my degree,” she said. “I knew I had to do it and I did.”

     Grubbs said she didn’t have to look far for motivation in college, as her college roommate, Britta Stephens of Pike County, kept her going.

     “My motivation was my roommate because she went through school quickly as well,” she said.

     While many people find math challenging and perhaps boring, Grubbs said she excelled in the subject.

     “Math was my best subject growing up,” she said. “I could always ace math tests because I like dealing with numbers.”

     The field of education has taken some criticism nationally of late and has undergone some changes, but that doesn’t deter Grubbs.

     “The most rewarding thing about being a teacher is helping students learn and succeed in life,” she said. “I know I’m trying to do my best to help them.”

     New students coming in often have to be caught up to where the rest of the class is, and Grubbs said that is often a difficult task.

     “Some students that come in from other areas have progressed tremendously since they started,” she said. “We can get most students that fall into that category caught up to where they need to be by the end of the year.”

     Grubbs said teaching is about being resourceful.

     “You have to do your best and use as many different things as you can to teach,” she said.

     Grubbs is the daughter of Ronnie Carney and the late Sue Carney of Lawrence County. She married Cory Grubbs of Tylertown on Oct. 8, 2011. The couple currently resides in Lawrence County.

     In today’s world, Grubbs recommends all students further their education after high school.

     “You need to have some kind of college to get a decent job,” she said. “Once you set your mind to what you think you want to be, do all you that you can to achieve it. Follow through and earn your degree or complete your coursework.”

     In the future, Grubbs said she will go where teaching takes her.

     “My exact future is undecided,” she said. “I’ll teach somewhere, but it just depends on where life takes me.”