Porterville High School is home to an awesome student body of 2,100 and an incredible amount of teachers who take exhausting measures to teach and make sure students are well engaged in their learning. This week, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with one of our amazing teachers of the Science department: Mrs. Hardin.

Mrs. Hardin is known for being silly, kind and really easy person to communicate with. She really does bring out the fun in learning!

Mrs. Hardin is originally from the Bay area, and she attended Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where Hardin was involved in some pretty exceptional extracurricular activities that include: softball, basketball, tap & jazz dancing. Hardin did basketball majority of her Freshman year, till she then moved on to softball. Mrs. Hardin attended Humboldt State University, where she got her degree in Geology, as a Geo-scientist emphasis. While in college, Hardin really enjoyed learning about earth and space science, and the classes she took inspired her enough to be where she is today; and that’s teaching what she loves!

Before taking the path of becoming a teacher, Hardin actually worked at Jamba Juice for sometime and had a job at 2 national parks: The Yosemite and Rocky Mountain where she would teach a JR Ranger program and educate people willing to learn about what she loves.

What is Mrs. Hardin’s Favorite Thing About Teaching?

“I really enjoy the student interaction. Every class is different interactions with students; the different cultures is what brings everything together.”

Mrs. Hardin would describe her teaching style as “strictly-relaxed,” because sometimes it takes time to let the students know she means business, in a strict, but calm way.

What Would Mrs. Hardin’s Weekend Sound Like?

“Outside. It always involves me being outside or on my mountain property.” 

Fun Facts You Probably Did Not Know About Mrs. Hardin:

• Mrs. Hardin really enjoys chocolate and she could eat it for breakfast everyday if she could!
• Mrs. Hardin has really small feet for her height; she is 5’9 with size 7 shoes.
• Mrs. Hardin was able to see Prince in person.       

Do You Have Any Advice For Someone Wanting to Take the Same Job Path As You?

“Don’t let the complainers keep you down. Strive for excellence.”

Mrs. Hardin can be described as outgoing, creative, impatient, thoughtful and fabulous. If you were to ask any one of her colleagues, I’m sure they’d agree. Throughout conducting my interview, I can agree that Mrs. Hardin is in-fact, outgoing and creative.