Teacher Appreciation Week runs from Monday, May 4th through Friday, May 8, 2026.
Nicole Fierro is not just an English teacher at Hug High School that teaches sophomores and juniors; she is also the head varsity softball coach.
During the end of her college career, she knew she had to decide what career she wanted to pursue. In her junior year, she took English classes and education as well. After a while, she found out that she really liked English and teaching, so what better way to show that than to become an English teacher! Becoming an educator was the best of both worlds for Ms. Fierro. She stated that coaching and teaching is very difficult to manage because for around 4 months out of the school year, she is working 10 to 12 hour days for six days a week during the softball season between open gyms, practice and games.
For her, coaching is fun and fulfilling to see her girls grow and become confident in the sport and being confident in the plays they need to make. From her first year of teaching to now, there has been a huge difference, because now she has higher expectations and has confidence in her students to get all the work done. In her first year, she was still learning how teaching was and how Hug High worked. Over the years, she has gained confidence in herself as a teacher to help her students become the adults they will soon become.
When Ms. Fierro was asked about what the most rewarding thing about teaching was, she stated, “The most rewarding thing is watching you guys gain confidence and just becoming the adults you’re eventually going to be.” She always tries to make her class fun and engaging so kids will be excited to come to school and give kids reasons not to skip her class.
One fact you probably didn’t know about her is that when coaching softball, sometimes there are some girls on the team who only speak Spanish, so she has been becoming more fluent and practicing. She also stated that she can understand Spanish, but she still has a difficult time responding back.
Aaliyah De La Cruz, a former student of Ms. Fierro from Hug High School, stated that “She is not old school, and she is an open-minded teacher. She’s funny and you can talk to her comfortably. She is funny but firm at the same time.”
Thank you, Ms. Fierro, for all that you do for the Hug High community!
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Girls Varsity Softball (NFHS)
