At the end of this semester, FC is saying goodbye to a beloved teacher on campus. Randy Hurley, teacher of woodshop, is wrapping up his time spent on campus. His final day officially teaching was Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Hurley reports that he is leaving the school due to a change of priorities and a new responsibility in his life.

“I’ve got too many things going on,” Hurley said. “My wife’s health is the main reason I’m leaving. Her health continues to decline. So I have to take better care of her. My priorities are changing.”

Hurley has been on campus off and on for nearly 20 years. He reflects on a particularly special experience he had when he was teaching at Clovis High Adult School.

There were a couple years that I didn’t teach here because I taught a night school class at Clovis High adult school. That was neat. One of the students brought his grandfather and took the class with him. He later built wooden toys for all of his grandkids, and that was just before he died. So they have an heirloom piece that grandpa made for them in woodshop. — Randy Hurley, woodshop teacher

The greatest joy Hurley finds in teaching is the satisfaction of passing his knowledge and skill onto a student. He also mentions that he will miss the atmosphere of being around people in a work environment, since he is an extrovert by nature.

“I’m gonna miss being around students,” Hurley said. “I’ve always been a people person. I’m going to miss watching them accomplish something here in class. The satisfaction on their faces when they complete a project and watch it come full circle, that’s what I’ll miss the most.”

Senior Trevor Beal appreciates the passion that Hurley put into his handicraft.

“I’m really going to miss him,” Beal said. “He made woodshop more enjoyable in ways that most people couldn’t. It was clear that he really loved his work.”

Junior higher Robert Montoya, a woodshop student, expresses his gratitude to Hurley and will miss his presence on campus.

“Hurley was a really fun teacher,” Motoya said. “He was super laid back but also easy to learn from. I was really disappointed when I heard he was leaving.”

Hurley said he hopes to spent some time traveling with his wife via their RV in the spring.

Those who have memories of Hurley are encouraged to leave comments below this article.

For more features, read the Dec. 11 article, Students participates in Christmas Crowd Hero (VIDEO).

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @_chloemueller.