When she attended a Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School pep rally for the first time as a teacher in 1995, tears rolled down Terri Vandiver's face.
"It was just so moving because I enjoyed my high school years," said Mrs. Vandiver, 49, a member of the LFO Class of 1978.
"My whole life has been LFO High School," she said. "I want the kids to know how important it is to make high school memorable."
She'll have that chance when she becomes its principal July 1.
School ties are deep for her family, she said. Her brother, sister and two sons also are graduates.
"I have a pretty vested interest in LFO High School," she said.
After high school, Mrs. Vandiver worked a few years at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee while she went to college at Trevecca Nazarene University. Then she quit work to stay home with her children as they grew up, she said.
In 1994, she decided to pursue teaching certification from Lee College, now Lee University, and nabbed her first teaching job at her alma mater in 1995.
"I've been here ever since," she said.
She was a teacher for seven years, two as business department head. Then she served as assistant principal for eight years, she said.
Her first and continuing challenge as principal will be the state budget crunch, Mrs. Vandiver predicted.
PERSONAL GLANCE* Name: Terri Vandiver* Occupation: Assistant principal at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School* Family: Husband, Barry; two sons, Ryan and Richard Long; stepsons, Scott and Greg Vandiver; two stepgrandsons, Jasper and Tyler Vandiver* Something people don't know about me: "I have a twin brother, Jerry, and I was 'Miss LFO' in 1978."
"I think the furlough days are going to be challenging for teachers," she said. But faculty members have remained dedicated to their jobs despite the uncertain future, she said.
She said previous administrators, including retiring principal Jerry Ransom, helped her become an integral part of school operations.
Social studies teacher Susan Bradley, one of Mrs. Vandiver's best friends since the mid-1990s, said her friend is "100 percent trustworthy."
"She honestly has the best interests of the students and this school at heart," Ms. Bradley said.
Ms. Vandiver is a "high-energy" person who loves her school and students and is willing to sacrifice her own time to help "because she has such a heart for people," Mrs. Bradley said.
"I think she'll have high expectations. She'll demand a lot from teachers and a lot from students," she said. "But I think she'll be there for them every step of the way, because she expects a lot of herself."