English teacher Katrina Dawson credits reading books with landing her in a classroom. And that had landed Dawson as the 2026 Teacher of the Year at Ben Davis.
After completing a transition to teaching program, she came to Ben Davis and has not looked back. The following is an interview with her discussing her career and why she chose to teach.
What inspired you to become a teacher, and why did you want to teach?
“I have a very clear moment [in mind]. In college, my roommate told me that she was taking this class, and they were reading a book called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. She said ‘I really think you’ll like it.’ So I picked it up and I thought, this looks boring, but I’ll read it. And it totally changed my perspective on what a book can do for somebody, in terms of opening their mind. And then I was like, oh my gosh, I had no idea reading could impact someone’s perspective this much. I wanna read for the rest of my life… and so, here I am, reading for the rest of my life… but also hopefully fostering a love of reading and trying to show people what you can gain from reading other people’s ideas, stories, inner thoughts. You know what I mean?”
So, in that case, you did not go to college to be a teacher?
“No, I have my bachelor’s degree in journalism. I really did like the writing part of journalism, but what I didn’t like was having to chase people down, you know, and say I need this from you. And I’m sure it’s different here, but I feel like a lot of the time, people don’t want to talk to you. So I don’t know if I’m cut out to constantly need something from them and be rejected.”
Why did you want to be a high school teacher, as opposed to some other schooling?
“What I really appreciate about high school students is them having the ability to have really nuanced conversations. Especially here, too, when everyone is coming to the table with such vast personal experiences. We have way more we can apply to a specifc story, or poem, or whatever. Students at Ben Davis, at the high school level have a superpower about being able to identify with people’s stories in a meaningful way. I like that about them, you can have nuanced perspectives, high schoolers understand sarcasm – when you’re taking education classes, the thing they say about teaching middle school is that middle schoolers can’t understand that, and sarcasm is like my first language. I’ve got to have people who are able to be mature. High school students are the best at that.
Tying into the last question, how do you try to teach and push away from that idea of kids taking your class just for grade weight?
“I feel like a lot of people take the class for the grade weight, then they come in here for two weeks and think, oh gosh, they feel like ‘this is not what I signed up for, this is not what I thought I was getting myself into for the college credit.’ I think one the most rewarding parts of that is they are, in those two weeks, resistant to the idea of ‘I don’t want to read this much, I don’t want to write this much, and I don’t want to talk during class this much.’ I like that those often times become the students who say they got the most out of this.”
Where did you go before BD?
“Nowhere. There was a job fair at IU Bloomington, and I was in a transition to teaching program, so they had principals and superintendents from all over the state, and they had us sign up for specific time slots with different school districts. Wayne was not on my list, but my friend came out of her thing and said, ‘I think I have to go home,’ so I took her slot reserved for Wayne Township – and Dr. Suggs was the person manning the table. I really felt inspired by her, and she said, ‘You should totally apply for a job at Ben Davis.’ I did, and it was Ms. Squire who hired me, and here I am, all these years later.”
