Autumn Michael is the yearlong substitute teacher who is currently filling in for Freesia Stein while she is on maternity leave. When CSD was in need of a World History teacher for ninth graders over the summer, Connie Wessner posted the employment opportunity and Michael noticed the post while driving back from the beach. She had previously taught collegiately at the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League Conference, at Chapel Hill, and at Greensboro College where she taught law students about architectural history and historic preservation of buildings and land. At first, she presumed the job would be shaped much like these college classes: small, focused kids driven on the subject, and only about a three-hour commitment by week. She reached out to Wessner to inquire about the job and was told that the job was a full-time position. She mulled over the decision and after a time of contemplation one thing led to another and she ended up with the job. 

When asked about how teaching freshmen compared to college students she answered, “At the graduate level the classes are very small, the conversations and material are focused on the one issue, it is a subject that people want to do for their career so they are driven and self-motivated. Ninth graders are wonderful – I think they are incredibly funny – but most lack some of the drive that college students have. That being said, I love to see when a concept or theme clicks in their brain but graduate students are ten years their senior and that age gap does matter.” 

Before teaching here at CSD she practiced law. She was born in Salisbury NC and while being raised there she realized that a majority of the people that she perceived as successful were either doctors or lawyers. She had an interest in politics since a young age and gravitated towards the vocation of lawyer rather than doctor. Pursuing a field of law, she went to school at Carolina and graduated with a major in Economics and Political Science and followed that with law school at Georgia where she earned a Master’s Degree in Preservation and Law. 

After graduating, she traveled to Hong Kong, China, for a stint of time. She had previously traveled abroad during college to Copenhagen, Denmark, and found the experience to be both eye-opening and enjoyable. Now, after both Hong Kong and Denmark, she believes travel is an integral part of a person’s life.

Michael also serves as a Commissioner for the Davidson Board – a different name for what is commonly known as city council – and is in the beginning year of her third two-year-long term. Her lifelong interest in politics led her to first run for Commissioner back in 2017. She has stayed in office because of her love for the community of Davidson and her ability to affect town policies. When asked if her role on the town board and teaching ever conflict, Michael said, “Besides a few pre-scheduled dates of the year that are mandatory meetings, the independent schedules often stay unimpeded. And in class, I try to give my students the ability to think and make decisions for themselves. I try to leave the board stuff with the board and school stuff at school. I want them to be able to come to their own conclusions on subjects rather than me telling them what they should think.”  

Her rote jobs as Davidson Board Representative include setting the completion agenda and the vision of the town. The board creates the goals and policies they wish the town to achieve, the budget of each decision, and how to fund the ideas. After the proposals are finalized, the plans are handed off to the staff of Davidson and are completed. 

What is her favorite part of teaching ninth grade World History? “I love how kind and inclusive they are. It gives me faith in the next generation when I see them helping one another,” Michael admitted. “I also love this subject. I didn’t believe the topic would interest me but seeing how these historical events connect to current events is such a cool experience, and I am grateful for it.”