Christy Nieves was destined to be a Wolf. When she first moved to Edmond from Texas, she would go on early morning walks and hear the band practice which led her to wonder if she would ever work there.
“I was applying for jobs in several districts and I couldn’t help, but wonder if Santa Fe would be where I would end up,” Nieves said.
However, it wouldn’t be until nearly two decades later that she was placed at Santa Fe.
Nieves taught at Memorial High School for 19-years prior to working at Santa Fe, and before she lived in Oklahoma she taught at Lake Dallas High School in Texas.
But, her husband did a nationwide search after receiving his masters and they landed in Oklahoma.
Through her years of teaching, she always wanted to earn her masters in administration but the time never seemed right.
“Twelves years ago, during my second semester, my five-year-old crawled in my lap and said ‘when do I get my mommy back?’,” Nieves said. “I withdrew from the university the next week. I wasn’t going to sacrifice my children’s lives for my career.”
Nieves waited over a decade to begin her masters once again.
“My daughter was getting ready to graduate from Memorial High School during the pandemic and we had a family meeting and I asked if they would mind if I pursue my masters in Administration,” Nieves said. “They said we can support you this is a good time so we did it.”
Although earning her masters is a great achievement, it’s one of many that she has. Among being an assistant principal at Santa Fe she has taught freshmen, sophomore and senior English. She was an assistant band director, color guard director, Creative Writing teacher, Newspaper Adviser, Geography teacher, American History teacher, World History and Special Education teacher.
Nieves’ personal life is also an adventure.
“I love to travel,” Nieves said. “It is my family’s goal to hit every national park.”
Her family is a big part of who she is as a person and why she does what she does.
Her son and daughter both do competitive swimming and one day at a meet an official asked Nieves if she would announce the meet.
“And from there it became a gig,” Nieves said.
She announces swim meets and a multitude of other events and enjoys volunteering to be with her children and their friends.
Nieves enjoys spending her time helping the students she surrounds herself with and always looks happy while doing it. One student even called her the ‘smiley principal.’
Santa Fe is grateful to have a principal who loves Santa Fe, and Santa Fe will surely live up to Mrs. Nieves’ expectations.
