For Melinda O’Brien, all roads lead back to Rogers.
From graduating high school in David Gates Stadium to teaching at Rogers High, O’Brien is back after more than 30 years. In her lifetime, she went from playing make believe school in 2nd grade, to being National Board Certified for 10 years.
Despite difficult upbringings, she worked hard to strive for her academic success.
“We were very poor. My mom graduated from RHS, and my dad dropped out in 8th grade. They had 4 kids and limited job opportunities,” O’Brien said. “Rogers High School to me was a place to excel and I saw school as my way to improve my economic situation.”
O’Brien graduated in 1989 and went straight into attendance at the University of Arkansas. From there, she finished her schooling with a Bachelor’s of Science in Secondary Education and a Master’s in Instruction from Arkansas State.
O’Brien taught World History and Sociology at Rogers High School for 29 years. After one year of a, her now husband took over family farm responsibilities in order for O’Brien to return to her passion of teaching. Presently, she is working as one of the two AP World History teachers at Heritage High School. She views these events as a full circle moment, ending her career on the campus where it started.
“AP is a challenge but I need to grow too,” O’Brien said. “My goal for teaching [is to] build strong, trusting, caring relationships with students so that they feel that they have a safe learning environment and provide students with a challenging curriculum that helps them develop skills in areas where Covid created a gap. Growth is the goal!”
O’Brien believes that grades reflect one’s work ethic and not someone’s knowledge or learning abilities. Rather than focusing on a student’s grades on tests, she focuses on the person’s growth. O’Brien does this by allowing students to retake vocabulary quizzes as many times as needed so every student has the opportunity for a perfect score.
“Mrs. O’Brien is so welcoming and she really makes me feel comfortable in her class,” Brandon Sanchez (10) said. “She even told all her students that she will always be there for us even after this year ends, which not many teachers do.”
The love reflected from her students is heavily reciprocated as she strives to make sure her students are taken care of.
“My students here are so hardworking, respectful, and kind,” O’Brien said. “It makes my work a joy.”
Since O’Brien taught at Rogers High, eight of her students have since returned and become faculty at Heritage. One of them being Kyle Moix, who now teaches AP World History alongside his former instructor, whose passion inspired his passion for teaching.
“My single favorite high school class was her sociology class. It was obvious she knew what she was doing and she was so passionate about the subject that [the passion] transferred to us.” Moix said. “Working with her again is great.”
After her long journey as a teacher, wife, mother, and farmer, O’Brien returned to her roots and plans to stay.
“Rogers did so much for me as a student and athlete that I wanted to give back and help kids love school like I did,” O’Brien said. “Since finding out in May that I got this job, I have been super excited to be at Heritage because it truly feels like I am home.”
