Grad student at George Mason University, JV Girls’ Lacrosse coach, and English teacher at WS– Katie Tinsley seems to do it all.
Tinsley has been involved with WS and the Spartan community ever since she was a child. She used to watch Lady Spartan basketball games with her family and supported the baseball team by cheering on her older brothers.
“I’ve been involved with the Spartan community for as long as I can remember. Eventually, I became, and still remain, a Spartan myself,” said Tinsley.
Tinsley played lacrosse when she attended WS, and now she is back to coaching the girls’ teams. She was the head coach of the JV team for three seasons, but due to some scheduling conflicts with grad school and practices/games, she is the assistant coach this season.
“I like how she coaches because she is very understanding and is always motivated to help the team out. She isn’t afraid to tell us when we are doing something wrong and telling us what we have to work on, which is a good thing,” said freshman Natalie Nguyen, who plays on the JV Girls’ Lacrosse team for Tinsley.
After graduating from George Mason University, Tinsley decided to come back to WS to also teach eleventh and twelfth English. She co-teaches with fellow English 11 teacher Mary Edwards.
“I came back to teach and coach because I wanted to stay connected and give back to a community that I love,” said Tinsley.
Many of her students like the way she teaches and the positive energy that she brings into the classroom. Junior Joey Myers, for instance, thinks that she is good at getting information across to the class.
“She helps out her students and she actually wants her students to succeed in the class,” said Myers.
Like Nguyen, Myers believes that she is motivating- not on the lacrosse field but in the classroom as well.
Tinsley is now back at George Mason for graduate school where she hopes to receive her master’s degree in English. Every Tuesday and Wednesday after school, Tinsley goes to George Mason for her classes. She misses lacrosse practices and games, but everybody on the teams understands and supports her.
“I want her to do well in grad school, because she works hard to make-up for the practices and games that she misses,” said Nguyen.