POSTED JANUARY 2023
As a North East ISD student, Christi Eanes learned from the best. Today, she's carrying on the tradition of inspiring the next generation of students as a teacher dedicated to practicing the very craft she teaches.
Christi has been the Director of Theatre at Lopez Middle School since it opened in 2007. She previously taught at Bush Middle School and Churchill High School. Her love for theater runs deep. She can trace her passion for it back to her days at Wood Middle School and Madison High School, where she graduated in 1988.
She'll never forget Mike Morris and Susan Hedger – two teachers she considers life-changing mentors.
"Theatre Director Mike Morris and Speech team coach Susan Hedger both inspired me to be a theatre teacher," said Christi. "They are the reason for my 26-year career as a theater educator. Some of my favorite memories of Mike Morris are seeing him on stage in various productions in San Antonio. Seeing my teacher acting on stage was inspiring. Now I get to do the same for my students. Traveling to speech tournaments with Susan all over Texas was so much fun and a great learning opportunity throughout high school."
With a fire passionately lit for theatre and education, Christi attended Southwest Texas State University to earn her degree in Directing and Theatre Education. She eventually returned home to NEISD to begin her teaching career. It's now a family affair. Her husband, Brian Eanes, is a Churchill High School graduate who teaches and coaches the Speech team at Reagan High School.
"NEISD Fine Arts is world-class in every way. We both now teach what we loved and were successful at in high school. We were inspired by our directors and were encouraged to use our voices to express ourselves and make the world a better place. We now encourage our students in the same way through theatre and speech communication. As beginning teachers, we learned from the best mentors, and now we run our own successful programs - the NEISD cycle of success."
Christi has spent her entire teaching career at NEISD and is an active member of Classic Theatre San Antonio, where she hones her craft and inspires her students.
"Performing on stage with a professional company makes me a better theatre teacher. My students and their parents have seen me perform on stage - the most rewarding moments as an actor and teacher."
Big or small, we all have a story to tell. If you are an NEISD alumni, we want to hear yours.
