Living Out Loud

ANYONE WHO THINKS A CATHOLIC GIRLS’ SCHOOL CAN’T HAVE FLAIR NEVER MET KATHY SMITH. In a sea of houndstooth and blue, Smith was a few shakes of cayenne pepper, spicing up classic English lit for her students and bringing her own vibrant sense of life to her colleagues.

“Back in the day, I loved fashion. I loved clothes. I think it was just kind of a shock at the Mount, you know?” she said. “The girls there, most don’t wear makeup and here I come, red lipstick, eye shadow, eyeliner, red acrylic nails.

“I think it’s from being a child of the ‘60s. We used to call it putting your face on. As I told my students, ‘I don’t even go to the mailbox without my makeup on, girls.’”

A warm, deep laugh follows, one of many that have echoed through her lifetime.

“I just don’t think there was anybody quite like me at the time.”

Smith started her teaching career at Conway High School at the tender age of 21. Four years later, she moved to North Little Rock and stayed in the district until the end of the millennium.

“I’ve never wanted to do anything but teach English. I decided on my career in my senior year of high school,” she said. “I just loved my English teacher, and I loved the literature. I’ve never had a single regret of my chosen career.”

Smith’s Mount St. Mary connection began with her daughter, Shana Nolen ’92, through which she got to know the quality of academics and befriended Sister Deborah Troillett ’73, former principal. At a social function, the Head Belle mentioned an opening on the staff and sweetened the deal by promising the former high school cheerleader she could coach Mount’s squad. It was too good to pass up, and Smith reported for duty in the fall of 1999.

The impact, not unlike a lightning strike, was loud, bright and immediate.

“I knew at the time it was a wonderful school. Of course, I didn’t know how wonderful, until I actually worked there,” she said. “But when I got my classroom, it was pretty bland. And I said, ‘This will not do.’ I went out and bought a bunch of feather boas, and I decorated my room with them. Then, it caught on in the department.

I’ve never wanted to do anything but teach English. I decided on my career in my senior year of high school.

Kathy Smith at Mount St. Mary, where she taught English for 22 years before retiring this past May.

Photo by Jason Masters

“After that, whenever there’s anything special, we always wore these boas. We had The Order of the Boa; that was our little name for the English Department. My gosh, we used to do it sometimes at closing ceremonies. We might put crowns on. It was just fun.”

Spunky hijinks and flashy get-ups aside, teaching was serious business. Over time, Smith would leverage her passion for her subject, particularly her forte of British literature, into improving the department. She introduced AP English classes (to date, enjoying a 93% pass rate) which led to the International Baccalaureate Program where, for 15 years running, students achieved a 100% pass rate on final exams.

“I am not afraid to toot my own horn or toot the English Department’s horns, believe me,” she said. “The English Department there has always been wonderful. I just don’t think they announced it from the rooftops the way I did.”

Smith was honored twice with the Stephens Award for outstanding and inspirational teaching, and in 2011 was the inaugural recipient of the John and Patricia Bailey Family Distinguished Teaching Award. But even these prestigious titles paled in comparison to the one bestowed on her by her Mount colleagues.

“I didn’t know about the name ‘Diva’ right away. I found out later it came from an employee in the finance department,” she said. “Her name was Nikki Hite; she was a ’95 graduate, and she named me Diva. It was like maybe a year or two after I got there because of how I pranced around or whatever. She’s darling, and it just stuck.”

Yet all parties must come to a close, and the physical demands of the job eventually became too much. At 74, life is slower now, if no less fabulous for the career educator. Asked what stands out from her classroom adventures, The Diva has a ready answer.

“I loved my students,” she said. “I want to say the girls made me want to be better every single day, just for them. And I’m going to miss them terribly.”