By April C. Honaker
Kaitlyn Mercer is the business education teacher and FBLA sponsor for Grades 6-12 in
Simsboro. In this role, she helps students explore their options when it comes to career
opportunities and education after high school.
The subject matter is broad and includes everything from marketing, finance, and computers to
Adobe Photoshop. Mercer said, “I teach a variety of things to a variety of kids, and I get to see
them think about their future plans in the working world.”
Mercer holds a bachelor’s in business education for Grades 6-12 and a master’s in educational
leadership. She has been teaching in Simsboro since she was a student teacher, and this year
is her eighth.
One thing that is really important to Mercer is to show kids that there are many opportunities
outside of pursuing higher education immediately after graduation and that they are not doomed
to fail if they take a different route. “We can all be successful,” she said. “Just find what you’re
interested in and go for it.”
Teaching her students from junior high through graduation helps with relationship building.
Mercer really gets to know her students, and because business is an elective, she is able to
easily adapt her lessons based on her students’ needs and interests. “I like to see my students
connect what they learn in the classroom to the real world outside of the walls of Simsboro High
School,” she said.
Mercer’s students earn a variety of nationally ranked certifications while they are still in high
school. Through her classes, students are building skills that will help them get a job later.
“There’s sometimes a misconception that electives are ‘fluff’ courses,” she said, “but my kids
and I are still held to a high standard, and we should be. My classes are as important and
applicable as core classes.”
In her classes, students learn skills that will help them be better prepared for the real world,
regardless of where their path leads. They can go to college, enlist in the military, join the
workforce, or even start their own business right out of high school.
Mercer said one of her former students did just that. She randomly signed up for FBLA and
competed at the state level her senior year. She then went on to start her own successful pet
grooming business. Mercer said this former student is now a huge supporter of the current FBLA students and frequently gives to help them meet their goals.
Just as Mercer pours her heart into her students, they and the Simsboro community never fail to
return the favor. Mercer is a two-time cancer survivor who is now in remission from Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma. “My motto is #FightLikeATiger,” she said. “That means that no matter what you’re
faced with, you fight for what you want, and you never give up. At Simsboro, we’re a big family
that sticks together in good times and bad, and that means everything to me.”
