Faculty farewell: Ms. Witthoft

Darci Witthoft, a longtime English department teacher at West, discusses her upcoming retirement

Vivian Polgreen and Vera Tanas|April 26, 2023

Darci Witthoft has been teaching at West for 23 years. In her time here, she has taught English 10, English 10 Honors, U.S. Literature Honors and Humanities.

Witthoft originally planned to be a journalist, but after discovering that it didn’t really fulfill her, she got a job in advertising and sales, which she also did not like. So, she pivoted and got a master’s degree in education.

“[I] decided to go into teaching and I love[d] it. And it was a good choice. It wasn’t like it was my second choice. It was more like, I tried that out and while there were some good things it did that didn’t fulfill me, especially advertising sales,” said Witthoft. “I could make more money but that was not my cup of tea. This is where I landed and I’ve not second-guessed it since being here.”

Witthoft taught Journalism and English at Mason City High School and Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids before coming to West. She’s remained at West because of the students and how each year is different, offering new experiences.

“

What I love about teaching in general, is just the idea that every year is a new beginning…Even if you’re teaching the same text, you can experiment with new ways of approaching it, and you never get bored.

— Darci Witthoft

“What I love about teaching in general, is just the idea that every year is a new beginning…Even if you’re teaching the same text, you can experiment with new ways of approaching it, and you never get bored. I think that’s what’s kept me going for the last 32 years,” said Witthoft.

Nate Frese has been working with Witthoft for nearly 23 years, the entire time she’s been at West, and over that time, they have become friends.

“She does make me laugh, sometimes with her little flustered moments that she gets, but she’s also a really good listener. I know that if I have some gripe or thing that I can’t wrap my head around, professionally, I can go to her pretty easily and openly talk to her about it. I don’t have to be guarded or worry about judgments, so I’ll miss that,” said Frese.

Amber Austin, an English nine teacher at West, has known Witthoft since 2002, Austin’s first year of teaching. Witthoft was someone that she looked up to as a teacher, and they have been friends since, keeping in touch even as Austin moved to a librarian position at an elementary school.

Some of her favorite times spent with her friend have been at Witthoft’s old colonial house by her pool.

“We’d just go and have our summer teacher time and hang by the pool. Once we had [our] kids playing in the pool, but we could catch up on all the teacher tea.”

Austin feels blessed to be able to see her every day and believes that she has always brought great energy to the department, saying, “[Her energy] balances out the intensity and the stress of what we do, and the work that we do, and that’s definitely going to be missed.”

“

We’re really just gonna miss having that friend that almost kind of feels like home. You know, you have that friend where you’re like, ‘That’s home.’

— Amber Austin

Austin will miss how she genuinely makes people laugh and brings joy to those around her.

“We’re really just gonna miss having that friend that almost kind of feels like home. You know, you have that friend where you’re like, ‘That’s home.’ It’s something that’s going to be missing for a while.”

Austin and Witthoft watched the recent NCAA women’s basketball tournament final together and were discussing the athletes’ talents and how unreal they were when Witthoft made a comment that stuck with Austin.

“She said, ‘I want to be good at something.’ That’s the kind of raw, genuine, funny things that she’ll say. And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? You’re amazing,’ and she was like, ‘At what?’”

The pair laughed and moved on, but Austin had something she had to say to her friend that she saved for later.

“You are impressively, unrealistically good at what you do, at work, in your friendships, with your job. Maybe it’s spread out over a few more things, but isn’t that the truth? People who are so good at something don’t even really realize how good they are. It’s spot on, she’s one of the best English teachers our department has had.”

Frese discussed how Witthoft’s retirement would leave a gap in the English department, and how especially her mindful minute at the start of class would be missed.

Ms. Witthoft gives her class an opportunity to stretch during a mindful minute (Vivian Polgreen)

“She is intelligent, obviously, and a really good teacher and a really good colleague. So having that voice, in our department meetings, somebody’s either gonna have to fill that void or we’re gonna have to do it together.”

Witthoft feels that she will greatly miss being with students after her retirement.

“I will definitely miss students. You guys are amazing. You make us want to show up and want to be present and want to be better. And I’m so grateful for that.”

Even though she will miss her students, Witthoft is excited about her future and what’s coming next.

The mindful minute also gives students an opportunity to close their eyes and breathe deeply (Vivian Polgreen)

“It’s like a reset button and I’m excited. I don’t necessarily have concrete plans but I’m going to prioritize a work-life balance. And I just really want to practice what I preach, which is being more present, and just taking the time to enjoy the little things in life,” said Witthoft. From there, she plans to embrace and enjoy whatever comes from that mentality, seeing where’s at and then making decisions after.

“I don’t look at this as the end. I look at this as a new beginning.”

In her absence, she advises students to live in the moment, be curious and willing to learn new things

“As we move forward, there are so many things competing with your attention, and you’ve got to, within yourself, maintain a sense of intellectual curiosity. And when you do that, I think things fall into place. Put away your phones, take out your AirPods, and be present.”