Heather Thomas gives back to Reston

by Chuck Cascio, Author and Former South Lakes Teacher

Heather Thomas

When Heather (née Fitzsimmons) Thomas, a 1987 South Lakes High School graduate, was a University of Virginia freshman, she experienced an occasion that brought the uniqueness of her life in Reston to light.

"There was an architecture student in my hall who asked to interview me about Reston as a planned community," Heather recalls. "It was through talking to her that I first really thought about my time at Dogwood Elementary School with its mix of students and how that enriched my early years. I was used to students of different nationalities, family income levels, and backgrounds. To me, that was just school."

Over the years, Heather's personal awareness of Reston's uniqueness has grown in many ways, but especially in her role as a guidance counselor at SLHS for seven years and in her current position there as Director of Student Services, which she has held for six years. In those positions, she has experienced many insights about individuals in Reston as well as the community itself.

“Working at South Lakes has strengthened my commitment to Reston," Heather says. "South Lakes is a Fairfax County school, but one of the things that makes it special is the community of Reston. We have a large number of alumni who have come back to work here, and many of them have children who now attend South Lakes."

Heather's family moved to Reston in the summer of 1974 from the Pimmit Hills area of Falls Church, and she fondly recalls her years at Dogwood Elementary: "I remember walking up to the doors of the school the afternoon before school started every year to find out who my teacher was. And, since Dogwood was an open-plan school, sometimes classrooms and hallways would change over the summer."

Heather felt a sense of freedom growing up in Reston: "I remember when I was in fifth or sixth grade, I was allowed to ride my bike to Hunters Woods Shopping Center by myself. This meant I had access to the library and, on special occasions, ice cream from Baskin Robbins!"

Heather's personal instinct to seek new realities led her to a unique choice of majors at the University of Virginia. She had visited France three times with family before graduating from high school, and those travels sparked a desire in her. "I knew I wanted to study abroad," she says. "I majored in French at UVA and spent a semester studying in Paris. I got my masters in teaching from UVA too. When I graduated, I taught French for two years--one in a school outside of Philadelphia and then in Fairfax County. Since I had also been endorsed to teach social studies, I taught Virginia history for three years."

An awareness was growing inside of Heather while teaching. She found that discussions with students inspired her to pursue a new role. "I loved the conversations I had with students that were outside of the curriculum," she says. Those discussions gave Heather insights that did not always appear in the classroom. They inspired her to pursue a role that would allow her to work with students in ways not always available to teachers so, while teaching, she earned her degree in counseling.

Her position as Director of Student Services gives Heather the opportunity to impact staff members in ways that filter directly into the classroom and students’ lives. She is aware that "college admissions seem to keep changing, especially around standardized testing like the SAT and ACT. So, we need to help students and families navigate the post-secondary planning landscape. And for students not interested in a four-year institution, we need to help them understand different options."

Heather and her husband, Paul, also a SLHS graduate, moved to Reston from a neighboring county when their son was very young and Heather was pregnant with their daughter. Heather and Paul had very specific reasons for the decision, going back to their own childhood experiences. "We wanted the intentional diversity of the schools," Heather said.

"We wanted the Reston camps, the trails, the pools. We wanted the community.”

The Reston community had made a lasting impact on Heather, leading her to make an ongoing impact on youths throughout her career.