Carly’s classroom is alive with posters, signs, and props as healthy learning reminders, including a large banner that reads, “Grow through what you go through.” She wants to build resilience and grit in her students and make sure they experience a sense of safety and belonging in an environment of caring and curiosity. She turns the stigma of making mistakes into growth opportunities to learn and achieve more next time, working to build and nurture a growth mindset in her students. 

She knows a bit about resilience in her own early experience to realize her dream of being a teacher. As this story on KUER promoting her award shared, as a fourth grader she came home and declared to her grandfather she was going to be a teacher when she grew up. When he challenged her decision, she left and returned with a handwritten essay arguing about the impact of the teaching profession – showing him that all other professions come through the teacher’s classroom. 

Carly is a graduate of WGU’s Teachers College, where she earned a Master of Education, Learning and Technology. She currently teaches Concurrent Enrollment English, AP Psychology, and English Language Development at Viewmont High School in the Davis School District. She is a mentor to new teachers and takes on many leadership roles in her school, calling for the importance of leading from inside the classroom. She is also part of the Davis School District’s Teacher Leader Fellowship Program, which provided her the opportunity to hone her ability to speak to state leaders about what is happening in the classroom from the eyes of a distinguished educator. She has been a teacher for 10 years, teaching at the same school from which she graduated in 2010.

Prior to being named Utah’s Teacher of the Year and receiving a $10,000 check as the prize, Carly received a one-year lease on a new car (including paid insurance) as the prize for being named Davis School District’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. 

She is humbled by the accolades and thanks everyone who helped her become a teacher. When her alma mater congratulated her as the Utah Teacher of the Year announcement was made, she replied, “Thank you so much, WGU, for this wonderful shout-out and for being such an incredible and vital part of my higher education journey! I am so grateful for my grad degree in learning and technology, for the flexibility WGU provided to pursue it online in affordable ways and while teaching full time, and for all the professors and mentors who helped me along the way to lead from the classroom!”