Bridgeport Middle School will be less a handful of longtime teachers come next school year. 

Newly retired are Beckie Alvaro, Ann Nicewarner, Carl Wunderlich and Holly Williams. Principal Carole Crawford said she has been proud to work with these outstanding educators and she wishes them the best in their retirement. 

The teachers were honored during a recent dinner, held in their honor. 

Alvaro taught in various Harrison County schools prior to her 14-year tenure at BMS. 

Included are 10 years at North View Junior High and 12 years at Gore Middle School. Alvaro said although she always wanted to be a teacher, she actually pursued a different course of study after her 1974 graduation from Bridgeport High School. 

“There was a glut of teachers, so I thought I would major in pre-pharmacy at West Virginia University,” she said. “But God had other plans. After two years, I married and transferred to Fairmont State and pursued my first love.” 

Holding certifications in biology and chemistry, Alvaro has taught middle school her entire career and has loved every minute of it, she said. 

“I have always told my students that I can’t be mad at them if they make me laugh, and oh, how I have laughed over the years,” she said. “Teaching has truly been a passion for me.”

She admits she has been shedding some tears as she’s winded up her final school year; verification that she indeed chose the right career. 

“I cannot imagine doing anything else,” she said. “When I see former students all grown up and doing well, I feel such pride that I had just a small part in that.” 

The brand new grandmother of twins - Victoria and Carter - Alvaro said she doesn’t have to worry about being busy during her retirement. She plans to be a full-time babysitter so that her daughter Maria Morrison can return to teaching at Liberty High School. She looks forward to spending time with her entire family - and perhaps eventually doing some traveling. 

Nicewarner also taught in several Harrison County Schools prior to accepting a position at BMS. Her first teaching position was at North View Junior High, where she met Alvaro. The school closed the following year and she went on to teach at Central Junior High School. It was there that she first met Crawford. That school, too, closed shortly afterwards and her next position was at Shinnston Middle School, where she taught for 18 months before her husband Phillip was transferred to Ohio. The family relocated back to Bridgeport in 1993, but she didn’t return to teaching until 1997. 

“I did a long-term sub job for two years at Lumberport Middle School,” Nicewarner said. “I was hired in 2000 and spent the next five years at Gore and finished my last 10 years at BMS.”

A math teacher, Nicewarner said she loved teaching because of the logic and critical thinking needed to solve what seemed like pieces of a puzzle. 

“Of course, the highlights of teaching are the light bulb moments and old students coming up to speak with you that you remember fondly,” she said. 

Nicewarner said she wasn’t necessarily inspired to pursue teaching, but once she chose math education as a career, it did become a passion. 

“Even this year, I loved learning new ways to get the content across to students and the collaboration I enjoyed with my other math counterpart Cathy Imperial,” she said. “I think I will miss getting to know the kids and seeing them grow through their high school years and blossom into young adults.”

She will also miss her colleagues more than she can express, she said. 

Nicewarner laughs as she recalls telling people her profession through the years.

“When you tell someone that you teach at the middle school level, you usually get ‘Bless you, somebody has to do it!” 

The blessing was all hers. 

“Teaching this age has been so rewarding,” she said. “Thank you kids for a great ride!”

Next spring, Nicewarner and her husband plan to travel cross country. In the meantime, she will enjoy her new life of leisure and spending plenty of time with her grandchildren. 

Wunderlich taught social studies and West Virginia history and has prepared many students for their pursuit of the West Virginia Horseshoe Award.

Williams taught English and along with Alvaro, has chaperoned the eighth grade trip to New York City for several years.

Editor's Note: Pictured left to right are Nicewarner, Williams, Wunderlich and Alvaro.