After 11 years of working at Oshkosh North,science teacher Lisa Butler is retiring. 

Her decision to leave the field stems from two things: reaching retirement age and because of policy changes in the science department.

Butler will miss her colleagues in the science department and her hardworking students, but she will not miss grading and the nights missed because of it.

 “All the grading! It’s a lot of night time hours, and it’s a lot of work.”

Butler will continue to work after leaving North, with thoughts of working in a medical environment or becoming a substitute teacher for schools.

“I’m still gonna work. I’m not completely sure what I’ll do, but I might work at a hospital or sub at schools,” Butler said. 

She started teaching in 2008 after graduating from Carroll College. 

“I’ve gone to many colleges, but the one I graduated from was Carroll College.”

She had a different start in her career, with going back to school to become a teacher later in life. 

“It was different than other teachers’ career paths, but it was worth it.”

Before working at Oshkosh North, Butler was a substitute teacher at West for 5 years. 

“While I was getting my degree, I was subbing at West for 5 years, and then I got my job at North.”

Usually, teachers tell you that they didn’t want to become a teacher when they were younger, but for Butler, she knew she wanted to become a science teacher at a young age—that, or explore the healthcare field.

“It was either becoming a science teacher or being involved in the healthcare world.”

She currently teaches physical science and biology, which are her favorite subjects to teach. When teaching electricity, she found she disliked the unit so strongly that she no longer teaches it.

“Electricity was my least favorite unit to teach. That’s why I don’t teach it anymore.”

She summarized her career differently than other teachers.

“It was different because I went back to school later in life compared to most teachers, and it was rewarding,” 

Butler has some advice for students as they experience the rest of high school.

“Get off your phones and enjoy learning more important things than the drama. Really, just enjoy the rest of life.”