For years, Kelly Flatt has traveled across the United States, going wherever her career leads her. Now, she is continuing her journey at Etowah High school as she begins her first year as the school’s newest administrator.
“My parents really encouraged me to move out of Pittsburgh and experience a lot of different things when I was young so that when I got older and settled down in a space, I would not be regretful of the things I did not do when I was in my 20s,” Flatt said.
Flatt’s career and experiences have led her to live in a total of four different states: Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, and presently, Georgia. Initially, Flatt was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she graduated high school. After graduating, Flatt moved to Virginia, where she attended both Old Dominion University and Radford University. Before joining the field of education, Flatt was a social worker at both Salem Virginia Hospital and Blue Ridge Community Services. After a short detour to Tennessee and a quick return to Virginia, Flatt found herself moving to Georgia, where she could be closer to her husband and continue her career as a school social worker. Once she realized that there were few jobs available for a social worker in Georgia, Flatt focused on working in the field of education.
“I did not choose education, education chose me,” Flatt said.
Though Flatt did not originally pursue education as a career, it has become a staple in her life. Before Etowah, Flatt worked at Douglas, Pickens, and Gwinnet County schools. Flatt noted that a major difference between her previous schools and Etowah was the size, with Etowah being considerably larger than the others. Though the vastness of Etowah can be intimidating, there are many aspects of Etowah that Flatt enjoys. One of the qualities she especially likes is how each administrator has strengths in contrasting parts of Etowah.
“Each administrator has strengths in different areas, so I have a wealth of knowledge and experience to pull from between all of them,” Flatt said.
Flatt says that the states she has lived in have significant distinctions from each other, the change in city size being a major one. Flatt finds similarities in Norfolk, Virginia and the big city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while other places, such as southwestern Virginia and Tennessee, are similar to the small size of Jasper, Georgia. However different they may be, Flatt believes that each state helped boost her confidence in finding a career that was worthwhile. Despite the frightening aspects, moving to unfamiliar places has helped Flatt lead a more independent lifestyle.
“Exploring different parts of the east coast and seeing everything that was available to me beyond my hometown absolutely built my confidence to seek out careers that would be meaningful to me. The progression of the jobs I have had are all connected to my very first one. Being able to learn new things in places where I did not know anyone was terrifying but made me an independent person today,” Flatt said.
As Flatt is enjoying her stay at Etowah as the school’s newest administrator, her career and lifestyle are sure to change for the better as she gets a chance to work in a brand-new environment.
