Paige Cameron, CFNN Reporter

Amey Shook is a name well known in the halls of Cape Fear High. Many know her as an American History teacher and current AP Psychology teacher. Others know her as the notorious swim coach, or even as the mom of Cape Fear junior athlete Amelia Shook. Regardless of how students know her name, Shook is often thought of as a cool teacher and someone you can talk to regardless of whether you’re in her class or not. Even though her stay at Cape Fear has been relatively short, the legacy she has created as a teacher and coach will never be forgotten. 

Mrs. Shook didn’t always teach. She’s only been teaching for six years, four of those at Cape Fear. She initially majored in business, and right out of college, she worked for GE Capital. “I worked at a big company where I managed client liaisons, really client relationships. I had a great time, but I worked all the time.” She said.

After she had her first child, she decided to stop working to spend more time with her family and children for twelve years. However, twelve years was long enough for her to stay home before she wanted to go back to work. “When my last child went to kindergarten, I was bored. I had nothing to do.”

Shook knew she didn’t want to go back to working at GE Capital. Instead, she wanted to work a job where the hours allowed her to continue being a big part of her children’s lives. She knew teaching was the right one for her, as the job incorporated her love of social studies and the best hours for her to see her family.

Even though she earned her bachelor’s degree in business, she also earned a degree in teaching. “When I was in my mid-twenties, there was a program in New York state where you could get a teaching degree. And my mom called me, I was living in Atlanta, and it was only a semester, and she told me I should do this. I thought that I was never going to be a teacher because I couldn’t envision myself doing it at that point in my life. But, I said sure I’d go get this degree, and I got it when I was twenty-five.”

In her short tenure at Cape Fear, she has managed to accomplish so many things in just a few years. She began her teaching career in American History and has continued to teach the subject for a few years now. “Well, I love History. I had a political science minor in college, so I fell into History because of that.” Shook said.

After teaching American History for just two years, she was asked to fill the role of teaching AP Psychology at Cape Fear. “And it was an honor to be asked to teach AP Psychology. It’s my second year teaching AP Psych, and I love it because it’s so different and so much fun. You never know where class discussions are going to go because we talk about so many unique topics.”

When she first came to Cape Fear, she didn’t just fill a teaching position, but she also filled a coaching position as Cape Fear’s new swim coach. When she first applied to Cape Fear, Mr. Spruill, the former principal, saw she had a background in swimming, (she went to college on a swimming scholarship) he knew coaching swim would be perfect for Mrs. Shook.

Coaching the school’s swim team wasn’t a difficult task for Mrs. Shook. She has been coaching swim on and off for most of life. “I coached after college for a bit. When my kids were growing up, I taught them and all their friends how to swim. I’ve always been involved in swimming in one way or another.” Shook said.

Shook has managed to transform Cape Fear’s swim team in the few years she has coached here. The girl’s team has been undefeated for two years now, and she is hoping the girls will continue their winning streak by going undefeated for the third year. For the past two seasons, the boys’ team has earned second place in the conference, and this season, Shook is hoping for the boy’s team to come out on top.

While Shook never expected to become a teacher, she couldn’t see herself doing anything else at this point in her life. She loves working with kids and helping lead them on the right path for life after high school. Although Shook has only been teaching for a few years, she will leave a mark on Cape Fear for years to come.