At the end of his senior year, valedictorian of his class Adam Bowling walked through the halls of school for the last time.
At least, he thought it was his last time.
Fourteen years later, Bowling has won the coveted Teacher of the Year award in his seventh year of teaching in the same place he graduated top-of-his-class from. In his time as a student, Bowling was involved in many activities, such as being the trumpet section leader in the band and a National Honors Society (NHS) officer.
“AHS was only one year old at the start of my freshman year,” Bowling said. “Everything was new, home room was in the portables, no one knew the school song, pep rallies were before school, but it was fun being a part of creating traditions and an Eagle culture on campus.”
AP Environmental Science teacher Debra Howsman taught Bowling biology in high school, as well as physics teacher David Pink teaching Bowling physics. In addition, AP U.S. History and AP European history teacher, as well as Teacher of the Year finalist Mary Gregory graduated with Bowling in 2011.
“I had a great time here [as a student],” Bowling said. “There were excellent staff, some of which I have the privilege of teaching with now.”
Bowling attended Texas A&M University in College Station en route to attending The University of Texas in Houston’s Medical School with plans to go into the medical field. Soon after, though, he decided that he wanted to teach instead, causing him to drop out of medical school and start teaching in 2018.
“When I decided to leave medical school and get into education, I knew that AHS was the place I wanted to teach,” Bowling said.
Bowling previously taught on-level and advanced chemistry and anatomy and physiology honors. He currently teaches both advanced biology and AP biology.
“I have always loved learning about how the natural world around us works through exploring medicine and the human body,” Bowling said. “Science has always been a passion of mine and I have loved getting to share that with my students.”
Just like his time as a student, Bowling has wasted no time in getting involved outside of teaching. He is also the UIL Academics Coordinator, as well as the science coach for UIL Academics.
“While teaching can be a hard profession at times, it is also one of the most rewarding,” Bowling said. “Seeing students have an ‘aha’ moment feeds [my] desire to continue teaching. Students are the future, and it is a joy getting to have a small part in it.”
The finalists for the 2024-25 Teacher of the Year award were Bowling, Gregory, AP Computer Science teacher Stephanie Davila, AP Literature teacher Jason Catoire, Spanish teacher Patrice de la Cruz, Mathematics teacher Mary Draemer, Special Education teacher Angel Knox, JROTC teacher Daniel Fleming and Art teacher Steffani Zachry-Holubec.
“It is such a privilege and honor to get to represent the school that gave me so much,” Bowling said. “I would like to shout out the other amazing nominees this year. It is a shame that there can only be one award.”
Bowling is proud to see the exponential growth, both in size and culture, of campus from year one to year 18.
“I have always wanted to give back to the campus that taught me so much and helped shape me into the man I am today,” Bowling said. “This is my community. This is my home.”