Retired HHS teacher Harshaw named Alumna of the Year

For Debbie Harshaw, the timing was just impeccable.

Harshaw recently finished a 30-year career with the Holton school district as a high school English teacher — her last official day is this Friday — and in addition to being recognized for her three decades of service to Holton High School students, she was also notified that the Holton High School Alumni Association had chosen her as the Alumna of the Year.

“I feel very overwhelmed, but also excited,” said Harshaw, who also celebrated her 40-year class reunion this past weekend as a member of the HHS graduating class of 1983. “It’s hard to put something like this into words, especially when there are so many who are deserving of this award.”

In addition to having members of her graduating class present at this past Saturday’s alumni banquet to celebrate their classmate’s honor, Harshaw said she was also looking forward to seeing so many of her past students at the banquet to celebrate their teacher’s recognition.

“I feel like I’m going to have a whole room of past students celebrating with me, because the 30, 25, 20, 15, ten and five-year classes are all my students. It’ll be sweet to see a lot of my past students’ faces in the crowd,” said Harshaw on Thursday while putting together the Class of 1983’s window display at Penny’s.

At the time of her graduation, she was known as Debbie Cashier, daughter of Harold and Freda Cashier of Holton. During her high school years, she was a member of the HHS cheer squad and was also active in music while working at Ogilvie Drug Store on Saturdays during the summer months.

As a senior, she said she looked forward to a career in education, having been inspired by her English teacher, Pauline Jensen, to pursue that career path.

“I still have the lesson plans that she gave me,” Harshaw said of Jensen. “When I was packing up my room, I found them again… I’ve used some of the older Chaucer stuff she gave me with my own students.”

Harshaw then pursued an education degree at Kansas State University, graduating in 1987. The next year, she married her high school sweetheart, Steve Harshaw, who graduated from HHS in 1982.

In 1990, she began her teaching career at Seaman High School, a three-year stint that saw her earning teacher of the year honors during her second year there and the birth of her son, Dalton. The Harshaw family then moved to Holton in 1993, and she took a job teaching sophomore English at her alma mater.

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