COVINGTON, Kentucky — Three graduates of Covington Independent School District have returned to the district this fall, not as students, but as teachers.
WATCH: Holmes grads return to Covington schools as teachers
Kayelyn Strotman, Kiara Hernandez and Alaria Long all walked the same halls around the same time, and each said coming back felt less like a career choice and more like coming home.
Strotman and Hernandez are both first-year teachers, while Long is in her second school and her first year in the district.
For Strotman, returning to Covington is deeply personal. A third-generation Holmes High School graduate, she attended Glenn O. Swing Elementary School as a child. Now, she teaches fifth-grade math in the same classroom where she once sat as a student.
"I'm teaching the exact same subject in the exact same room, where I was once a student, so I think that's incredibly special. And I still work with the person who taught in here when I was when I was a student too," she said.
Strotman graduated from Holmes High School in 2022 and went on to earn a degree in elementary education from the University of Kentucky, graduating a semester early in December 2025 after completing college courses through Gateway and Northern Kentucky University while still in high school.
She said she never seriously imagined teaching anywhere else.
"These walls shaped who I am as a person, and now I get to help other students feel that same way as well."
Strotman said she hopes her students take away that success is possible for anyone who comes through Covington schools.
"I hope they remember that you can be a student here and at Holmes and live a very successful life. I think a lot of people in our schools that go through our schools, unfortunately, are told differently by either teachers or adults outside of our school district who don't know much about our kids. So I always like to remind my students that I was also one of them," she said.
Kiara Hernandez is a first-year ninth-grade integrated social studies teacher at Holmes High School. As a first-generation high school and college graduate and the daughter of an immigrant, she said her background has already helped her connect with students in meaningful ways.
During the district's Ready Fest event, a student approached her after noticing her last name.
"I had one of my students come up to me, and she goes, 'Me too. That's my last name.' And so that was kind of a special moment for me to share with her as a Mexican-American myself. The population just becomes more and more diverse at Holmes," she said.
Hernandez said she hopes students see a piece of themselves in her.
Holmes High School Principal Angela Turnick said the district was thrilled when Hernandez applied.
"This summer when Kiara applied for the job, we were excited to see she was a Holmes grad and wanted to come back. It shows our students that there's possibility here and they can become educators as well."
Hernandez said she wants her students to know she is someone they can trust.
"I hope my students take away from me that I'm an adult in the building that really cares about them and wants to see them succeed. I'm always someone they can come talk to, and I don't want them to ever be afraid or just like a little standoffish towards me, because although I'm a new teacher, and I have so much that I need to learn, I am not someone who gives up."
Alaria Long is a second-year teacher and first-year Covington Independent Schools staff member, now teaching fifth grade math at Sixth District Elementary School. A Covington schools graduate herself, she said returning to the district felt like an honor.
"It felt rewarding, and it felt like an honor to return back to the school district that ultimately groomed me into the person that I am today."
Long said she already sees herself in her students, including the chatty ones, and that the relationships she has built in just the first two weeks have brought her joy.
"I want to make sure my students know that this isn't easy and that some of the work may be a challenge, but that's why we're here so they can ultimately be successful."
She also offered a message to other first-year teachers in the district.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, but stay grounded in your expectations for every student, every day.
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