media by Ella Heimer

Science teacher Payton Holloway uses a paper to explain El Nino and La Nina to his student aid Aby Blue ‘26 Nov. 14. Holloway’s class completed a lab to analyze patterns. “I was explaining about how we are going to set up the lab to help students use El Nino and La Nina to analyze fishing patterns,” Holloway said. “Having a student aid to help me set it up helps me with my time management in class.”

Being a new teacher at a new school can be challenging. 

In August of 2021, Payton Holloway started his first year teaching at Rock Canyon High School freshmen Earth Environmental Science. 

“The very first class I ever taught, I was so nervous. It was all going well until I had to pull down the projector screen,” Holloway said. “It took me two minutes to pull down the screen, everybody was trying not to laugh. It was so embarrassing.” 

But, difficult projector screens weren’t going to get the best of him. 

As the years progressed, Holloway found his bearings, discovering his way of teaching and getting to know his students. He now teaches both Earth Environmental Science and Geology.

“Being able to get to know students is my favorite part of teaching. It’s rewarding to see my students grow. Although science isn’t for everybody, I hope that building a relationship with students can help them learn because they are having fun,” Holloway said. 

Holloway decided to teach when he was in high school, at Broomfield High School. He had many teachers that inspired him. 

“[My teacher] Mrs. Davidson made science more hands-on, which made it very interesting for us. She genuinely cared about us as students and that made us care about her class,” Holloway said.

Holloway first attended Black Hills State University in South Dakota for track and field. Then, he attended Metro State University of Denver and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Science Education, along with an emphasis in Environmental Science. He feels that he is becoming a better teacher every year. 

“It’s easy to be a good teacher when you are at a school where students like to go to school too, and have coworkers that support you,” Holloway said. 

Now, in his third year of teaching, he embraces it, no longer nervous about teaching every day. Instead, he focuses on the relationships. He also works as a coach, training the boys on the sophomore boys basketball team and jumps for the track team.

“If you can build a relationship with a student and they trust and listen to you, you can teach them about anything,” Holloway said.