A faithful helper of the youth
Published 8:59 am Thursday, February 15, 2018
- Farrah Schmidt
Farrah Schmidt has long had a passion to work with children, and she has been able to consistently follow through on that in a variety of ways throughout her life so far.
She presently lives on a farm in Rice with her husband, David, and their children. She grew up in Charlotte County and also worked there as an elementary school teacher for seven years.
When her first child, Hannah-Gray, was about a year old, Farrah made a decision.
“I just decided that I wanted to stay at home with my kids until they went back to school,” she said. “And we’re at four kids later, and my youngest will be going to kindergarten next year, so I’ll probably be going back into the classroom soon, hopefully.”
But she has been quite busy over the last 13 years, raising her children and finding ways outside the classroom to support them and others.
As her girls have become involved in athletics, she has been able to pursue her love of photography, serving both her own family and many others. She has even submitted photos to The Herald, helping put a spotlight on the athletic achievements of many children in the Heart of Virginia.
“I have as much fun taking (photos) as the parents who receive the pictures, the feeling that they get — they’re always excited and appreciative,” she said. “I’ve always, from a very early age, loved taking pictures and just kind of preserving memories, so it’s always something that I’ve loved doing, so I never looked at it as work, I guess.”
In addition to being a photographer, Farrah is also a cheerleading coach.
“For 12 years, I’ve helped with the Heartland Heat Cheer Squad,” she said.
She helped start the group, which had 24 girls this year ranging from first- through fifth-graders. They recently held their last performance of the season.
“Just like any other sport that I’ve helped coach or classroom that I’ve taught (in), you become like a family and see them grow, and I’ll miss them,” she said.
She noted that when she first helped start the squad, there were three different groups, and the program included a competition squad that would travel to different places in Richmond to compete.
“This is more just an exhibition squad,” she said of this year’s team. “We go to Longwood and Hampden-Sydney basketball games, and then Fuqua and Prince Edward, and if we have any girls from Cumberland or Randolph-Henry, we’ve done that. We’ve gone to those schools too. But this year, we just had Fuqua and Prince Edward girls, so we just did those local high school games.”
Farrah reflected on what she has enjoyed most about life as a teacher and as a mother.
“When I was in the classroom, I definitely enjoyed just seeing the progression,” she said. “I taught first grade and second grade, so I really got to see them learn how to read, and that was just an amazing progression from the beginning of the year, and kind of, you would see it right after Christmas, it would click with a lot of them, and I love that.”
In the course of raising her children, “My kids always laugh, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is my favorite stage… ’ I don’t have a favorite stage. I just have enjoyed so many stages that my kids have gone through.”
When asked what her proudest achievement is, she said, “Oh, definitely my kids. They are my pride and joy, and I’m so thankful for them, and I’m thankful for the season that I’m in right now where I’ve been afforded the opportunity to stay home with them the last 13 years and just be able to volunteer in their classrooms and go on field trips and just be home with them.”
Her children include Hannah-Gray, who is 16 years old, Meredith, who is 13, Kenna, who is 8, and Lily Kate, who is 4.
Prompted to provide three words that best describe her, Farrah pondered the question and replied with the following: passionate, volunteer and faithful.
As for the best decision she has made in her life, she said, “Definitely accepting Jesus as my personal savior at age 12.”
She and her family attend New Life Church in Farmville.
Though she has been busy, Farrah has found time to continue her education, earning a reading specialist master’s degree through Longwood University.
“So I’m kind of toying with maybe wanting to do something with that, or I don’t even know,” she said. “I just know that that’s always been my passion is working with kids, and so I definitely want to do something along those lines.”