Cooking teacher enters new chapter of life

Mrs. Lechner looks forward to retirement
Carly Grozier & Alexis Swoyer
Journalism Students

   Mrs. Cathy Lechner, a foods and nutritions teacher at Freedom High School (FHS), will be retiring after the first semester of the 2018-2019 school year. Mrs. Lechner has worked at FHS since 1996. 
  Prior to coming to FHS, Mrs. Lechner studied at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania with a degree in clothing and textiles. She then worked at a Hess’s, an old department store that is no longer running. After ten years, she decided to start teaching. 
  Mrs. Lechner then went back to college to get a teaching degree. Before coming to FHS, she worked in six other school districts as a substitute. She has taught many different subjects within Family and Consumer sciences, including cooking. 
  “I did not really decide to become a cooking teacher. I wanted a permanent job and this was the Family and Consumer Science subject available at the time. Luckily for me, I like to cook and I like to share what I know about foods and nutrition, so it was a perfect match,” said Mrs. Lechner.
  Her favorite part about working at FHS were the interactions with other staff members and her students. Mrs. Lechner likes that her job has a purpose for the students. She teaches life skills daily that will prove useful to students in the future. 
  “I teach a life skill. It’s more than cooking. Food preparation is about teamwork, problem solving, nutrition, meal planning, and more,” said Mrs. Lechner.
  She has made many foods with her students over the year. However, there is not one specific food that is a favorite among students. 
  “I guess the foods I like best are the ones the kids come back and tell me they made at home, or the recipes they ask for in an email,” said Mrs. Lechner. 
  Although she will miss her students, Mrs. Lechner is looking forward to her retirement.
  “After retirement I am looking forward to not waking up to an alarm, to being with my children and grandchildren, and spending time with my husband and aging parents,” said Mrs. Lechner.
  During her retirement, she is also looking forward to crossing off some stops on her bucket list. She still has 12 states to visit, so that will be taking up a lot of her time, along with many other activites.
  “I know I will find plenty of activities to fill my time, because I do not like to be idle,” said Mrs. Lechner
  Mrs. Lechner is set to retire this January and enter the next chapter of her life.   

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