Heather Motter
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” (Confucius). This is the motto by which Heather Motter lives and the philosophy by which she teaches.
Heather is an English teacher and senior project coordinator at Cranberry High School, and serves on the Chamber’s Education Committee. She aims to encourage students to find their passion and incorporate them into their profession, and has developed a senior curriculum including a resume, cover letter, college application essay, passion presentation, and mock interview.
For the interviews, more than thirty community members volunteer to spend the day with students, and the Chamber has had the opportunity to help the school acquire community contact. “The Chamber has been crucial to the development of the senior project, particularly our mock interviews, which by far is the most valuable and rewarding component of the project,” Heather said.
She also recently had the opportunity to participate in a Teacher in the Workplace program through the Riverview Intermediate Unit 6. where she has not only been able to discover a number of “gems” in Venango County, but has become a more effective teacher in the process.
She turned to Venango Chamber President/CEO Susan Williams, who paired her with Judy Etzel, writer and reporter at The Derrick & The News-Herald for 49 years.
“My experience with Judy was invaluable. We talked about the importance of developing the three C’s (curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills), which was reiterated by the other businesses and industry partners represented through the program,” she said.
Additionally, each spring, Program Manager Ashley Cowles speaks to Heather’s classes about the Be Here initiative and encourages them to recognize that it is possible to build a future in Venango County.
“Teaching is not my job; it is my passion,” Heather said. “Our school and the Chamber have developed a partnership that is crucial to the future of our students’ success and our region’s workforce.”