Biology teacher and cross country coach Kelly Rock has taken over the role of science department chair. She fills the spot vacated by Dan Gant, who retired from teaching after holding the position for 22 years.

“I’m just going to do the best I can in leading the department just like he did,” Rock said. 

Rock believes Gant did an incredible job when he was in the department chair and she hopes to lead her fellow workers just as well. She also feels honored about being the second person in Starr’s Mill history to ever be the department chair.

With being the leader, she wants to be the voice of the department. When her colleagues have concerns, they can go to her and she will help them find ways to resolve it. 

“The one thing that I could tell the whole world is to be true to yourself,” Rock said. 

After finishing high school in Fairburn, Rock went to North Georgia College to pursue a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. She originally thought she wanted to go into medicine but it wasn’t the field she wanted to be in. She struggled all throughout college thinking what she wanted to be until she thought back to a conversation she was having with her high school counselor who said she should teach. 

Outside of school, Rock enjoys running, reading, hiking, and watching her kids play sports. She likes to keep herself occupied.

She loves to interact with her students by having discussions with her class or running labs so they can further understand the material. She wants to make sure they feel comfortable and can come to her if they have questions.

“Keep in the back of your mind ‘Why are you doing this?’, ‘Why did you start doing this?’ because that’s still your reason for doing it,”  Rock said.