Written by: Ashley Westbrook
Brooks Mewborn was a student at the University of Georgia, spinning his wheels, not sure what he wanted to pursue when he received a phone call from his former football coach, Bill Bonds.
"He called and said, ‘I'd love for you to come back home and be able to give back to the community," Brooks remembered. "He needed some help coaching football and suggested that I pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education."
Today, Brooks is confident in saying that this phone call changed his path and led him to discover his passion.
"I came back home and began substitute teaching," Brooks said. "I did some voluntary work with the middle school's football program and fell in love with working with kids."
This simple phone call also led Brooks back to Emmanuel College, where he first began his college education.
At the time, Emmanuel was just starting their School of Education so Brooks decided to apply and enrolled in the Early Childhood program where he met his wife, Heather, in his first class.
What Brooks found at Emmanuel were people that were willing and gracious to help him stay on the right path.
"Our cohort was a little family," he remembers. "The ability our faculty members had to really pour into us, I can't forget the many hours they spent helping us learn and grow. I was Brooks to them, not a number and I appreciate my professors treating me like that and helping me get to where I am today."
Brooks graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education from Emmanuel in May 1999.
Today, Brooks serves as the CEO of the College and Career Academy and CT Director of Hart County High School.
"A lot of my job is going out into the community to industries, going on tours and seeing what they do, what they produce," Brooks said. "I bring that information back and educate our students and staff about opportunities they have right here at home. With this information, students can make an educated decision about their future."
Brooks began his teaching career at Mount Olivet Elementary as a Physical Education Coach but hoped to be in the classroom. After a year of teaching PE, he was moved to a 5th-grade classroom which was where he wanted to be.
Brooks served in several capacities in the Hart County school district, including serving as the Assistant Principal at Hartwell Elementary for two years and the Principal of North Hart Elementary for three years.
To him, moving up the ladder in the Hart County District has been a blessing because he has had the opportunity to work in almost every school in the district.
How has his time at Emmanuel served him well in his career?
"Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years, but I'll never forget a book we read by Harry Wong about the profession in general and building relationships with people," Brooks remembers. "That's the biggest thing I learned from people like Ken Peden, Dr. Vicki Hollinshead and Pam Carroll is that building relationships with people is non-negotiable if you're going to have an impactful career in education."
Brooks credits these same professors for making an impact both in the classroom and acting as mentors upon graduation.
"Dr. Hollinshead has played a huge role in my development, as did Dr. Peden," Brooks said. "I don't think I have a bigger mentor than Pam Carroll. She is wonderful. When I first started teaching at Mount Olivet, I spent countless hours during my first year of teaching in her classroom. Pam really played a large role in helping me get started. Dr. Veronica Johnson and Jim Burch were also some of my greatest mentors since I began teaching. They are the biggest reasons why I'm where I'm at today in leadership."
What advice would Brooks give to students unsure of which path to take?
"I graduated 138 out of 208 at Hart County HS," Brooks remembers. "It's not about having a number, it's about having a passion. I talk to kids all of the time about how important it is to tap into their passion. Dream big and go for it. Whatever it is that you want to be, tap into that passion and keep your eyes on the prize and don't let up."
If asked how he got into Education, Brooks will share about the phone call from Coach Bonds, that brought him home to Hart County and helped him discover his passion for teaching. Brooks is confident that God had a place in calling him home, and he's glad he answered.
Brooks Mewborn was a student at the University of Georgia, spinning his wheels, not sure what he wanted to pursue when he received a phone call from his former football coach, Bill Bonds.
"He called and said, ‘I'd love for you to come back home and be able to give back to the community," Brooks remembered. "He needed some help coaching football and suggested that I pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education."
Today, Brooks is confident in saying that this phone call changed his path and led him to discover his passion.
"I came back home and began substitute teaching," Brooks said. "I did some voluntary work with the middle school's football program and fell in love with working with kids."
This simple phone call also led Brooks back to Emmanuel College, where he first began his college education.
At the time, Emmanuel was just starting their School of Education so Brooks decided to apply and enrolled in the Early Childhood program where he met his wife, Heather, in his first class.
What Brooks found at Emmanuel were people that were willing and gracious to help him stay on the right path.
"Our cohort was a little family," he remembers. "The ability our faculty members had to really pour into us, I can't forget the many hours they spent helping us learn and grow. I was Brooks to them, not a number and I appreciate my professors treating me like that and helping me get to where I am today."
Brooks graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education from Emmanuel in May 1999.
Today, Brooks serves as the CEO of the College and Career Academy and CT Director of Hart County High School.
"A lot of my job is going out into the community to industries, going on tours and seeing what they do, what they produce," Brooks said. "I bring that information back and educate our students and staff about opportunities they have right here at home. With this information, students can make an educated decision about their future."
Brooks began his teaching career at Mount Olivet Elementary as a Physical Education Coach but hoped to be in the classroom. After a year of teaching PE, he was moved to a 5th-grade classroom which was where he wanted to be.
Brooks served in several capacities in the Hart County school district, including serving as the Assistant Principal at Hartwell Elementary for two years and the Principal of North Hart Elementary for three years.
To him, moving up the ladder in the Hart County District has been a blessing because he has had the opportunity to work in almost every school in the district.
How has his time at Emmanuel served him well in his career?
"Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years, but I'll never forget a book we read by Harry Wong about the profession in general and building relationships with people," Brooks remembers. "That's the biggest thing I learned from people like Ken Peden, Dr. Vicki Hollinshead and Pam Carroll is that building relationships with people is non-negotiable if you're going to have an impactful career in education."
Brooks credits these same professors for making an impact both in the classroom and acting as mentors upon graduation.
"Dr. Hollinshead has played a huge role in my development, as did Dr. Peden," Brooks said. "I don't think I have a bigger mentor than Pam Carroll. She is wonderful. When I first started teaching at Mount Olivet, I spent countless hours during my first year of teaching in her classroom. Pam really played a large role in helping me get started. Dr. Veronica Johnson and Jim Burch were also some of my greatest mentors since I began teaching. They are the biggest reasons why I'm where I'm at today in leadership."
What advice would Brooks give to students unsure of which path to take?
"I graduated 138 out of 208 at Hart County HS," Brooks remembers. "It's not about having a number, it's about having a passion. I talk to kids all of the time about how important it is to tap into their passion. Dream big and go for it. Whatever it is that you want to be, tap into that passion and keep your eyes on the prize and don't let up."
If asked how he got into Education, Brooks will share about the phone call from Coach Bonds, that brought him home to Hart County and helped him discover his passion for teaching. Brooks is confident that God had a place in calling him home, and he's glad he answered.