Class Acts

Jan Curtis was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer four years ago, but she continued working as a teacher at Deer Valley Elementary School throughout intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Her colleagues marveled at how she kept a smile on her face, a strong work ethic and a sense of humor as she struggled with the disease.

Her ability to show grace, strength and humility under fire helped her earn the 2017 Finley Award for character among all Hoover City Schools personnel.

Curtis joined Hoover High School senior Austin Carter and Spain Park High School senior Douglas Henze as the top three Finley Award winners for the school system this year. They were recognized at an awards ceremony at Metropolitan Church of God in late March.

The award is given each year in honor of the late and much-loved Berry High School coach Bob Finley, who died of a heart attack while doing maintenance on the school’s football field in 1994.

Vickie Allen, who teaches with Curtis at Deer Valley, was one of her colleagues who nominated her for the Finley Award.

“Jan Curtis inspires the faculty and student body of Deer Valley alike to embody the principles of love, trust and hope,” Allen wrote on her nomination form. “Through her love and trust of Christ, she has helped our whole staff understand how one can live and work with struggle.”

Curtis, whose cancer is now in remission, did not hide her illness from her students but rather embraced their fears and concerns about what was happening to her, Allen wrote.

“With her help, her students were able to express their feelings of being afraid for her and lots of love,” Allen said. “The children were able to learn hands-on what it means to care for others.”

As a teacher, Curtis builds wonderful relationships with parents and students and specifically seeks out children with special needs for her classroom, Allen wrote. She also is great at organizing and leading groups of teachers in a kind and meek, yet effective manner, fellow first-grade teacher Brittany Hunt wrote in another nomination.

Curtis is a native of Trussville and began her career in education teaching elementary school in Athens for five years. She then took time off to raise her family and returned to education at Deer Valley in 2010 — first in the library and now in the classroom.

She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is pursuing instructional leadership certification. She and her husband, Billy, have 16-year-old twin boys and an 11-year-old son. They attend The Station Church in Hoover.

Austin Carter

Carter, Hoover High’s Finley Award winner, also has had his life touched by cancer. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was in the fourth grade at South Shades Crest Elementary.

Chad Eads, one of Carter’s football coaches, said in a Finley nomination form that he watched Carter deal with the uncertainty of his mother’s future over the years and witnessed strength and faith lived out in front of him.

Though his mother has been cancer-free for five years now, Carter still wears a piece of pink clothing each day in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in honor of his mother’s battle.

“He never forces the topic onto his classmates but continues to quietly represent the many people affected by this disease,” Eads wrote. “Austin is always ready to talk about his family’s trial when others ask and explain to them the impact that cancer has on the patient and the entire family. He has committed his future to attending medical school with the dream of developing a cure for a disease that impacts everyone on the earth … Austin will use the lessons from his life to continue to quietly make life better for those around him.”

Carter also has demonstrated great, quiet leadership on the football team, Eads wrote.

“The most important and lasting impact of his leadership is seen in the level of respect the younger players have for Austin,” Eads wrote. “I truly believe that Austin Carter’s quiet leadership, respect for others, dedication to his friends and tireless work ethic has caused many of his teammates to evaluate areas of their academic, social and personal lives. Austin has provided them with a model of how to live a life of honor and respect while maintaining the excitement of a young person.”

While many senior students arrange their schedules to leave school after a few classes, Carter stays at school to help special needs students in physical education, Eads said.

“Austin values his time with these students because he believes he gains a new perspective on life’s difficulties,” Eads wrote. “The special needs students’ lives are enriched because a young man like Austin gives of his time to be their friend, but he values the life-changing influence they have on his life.”

Carter has maintained an excellent academic record and was named the 2017 individual 7A state wrestling champion in the 285-pound weight class. 

He is in the Hoover High peer helping program and Engineering Academy and has been accepted to Auburn University, where he plans to major in chemical engineering. He also is active in the youth group at Riverchase United Methodist Church.

Douglas Henze

Henze, the Finley Award winner at Spain Park, is described by faculty as a rare student.

Spain Park football coach Shawn Raney said Henze will always be one of his most memorable students and players.

“Doug has always displayed a high degree of integrity, responsibility and ambition,” Raney said in a letter recommending Henze for the Finley Award. “He treats his teammates, classmates, coaches and teachers with the utmost respect.”

He has a strong work ethic, showing up every morning at 6:30 a.m. in the weight room to do extra work, Raney said.

“He is definitely a leader rather than a follower,” Raney wrote. “He is always the first one to show up and the last one to leave, and is the definition of leading by example.”

In addition to earning a starting position on the varsity football team, Henze has shown leadership in the classroom by maintaining an excellent GPA, Raney said.

Henze’s Advanced Placement calculus teacher, Paul Carboni, also recommended Henze for the Finley Award. Henze grabbed his attention early in the school year because of his solid work ethic, smart comments in class, positive attitude, good sense of humor and he way he is respected by his peers and works well with them, Carboni said.

“Douglas is in my first period calculus class, and he always seems to arrive in the morning with an outstanding attitude and always seems to be happy to be here,” Carboni wrote. “He has yet to miss a single assignment all year, which is particularly impressive considering how much time he loses to football practice and games. He even had his homework ready on the Friday morning after a late Thursday night football game.”

Henze excels in academics, particularly in math and science, and has been accepted to Harvard University, where he plans to major in psychology in the fall. But he also shines outside the classroom, Carboni wrote.

He is an Eagle Scout, leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a leader in the Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. He also is a leader in the youth ministry at First Christian Church of Birmingham, served as a Vacation Bible School teacher, participated in mission trips and served as a worship and small group leader at church.

“He has a heart for serving others and finds joys in others’ happiness,” wrote the Rev. Robin Blakemore, the minister of discipleship at First Christian Church. “Douglas is bright, thoughtful, talented and compassionate. He is a natural leader who sees leadership as an obligation to serve rather than an occasion for accolades.”

Raney said if he had a daughter, Henze is the kind of young man he would want his daughter to bring home. “Everything about the kid is outstanding,” Raney said. “Coach Finley would have enjoyed coaching him.”