After 55 years of working at M-A, Physical Education teacher Pamala Wimberly retired last year as one of the most recognized, accomplished, and beloved teachers in the school’s history. For the past eight months, Wimberly has been enjoying her retirement and adjusting to her new free time.
When asked how her life has changed since M-A, Wimberly said, “In retirement, I have more time for necessary things, like working on my health. I can now visit doctors I didn’t have the time to see when teaching, and I go to the gym every day for about an hour.”
Wimberly’s favorite parts of retirement are relaxing and sleeping in, something foreign to her after decades of working. She said, “It’s nice to have unscheduled time.”
During retirement, Wimberly has taken up other hobbies like decorating and organizing her house, and spending time with her family dog, Odie. She also continues to keep herself busy by giving back to the community by leading and participating in community activities. She said, “I coach and participate in a women’s slow-pitch softball team called Saints Express. Now being retired, I have more time to coach my team, and it keeps me connected to sports.”
Wimberly and her team have traveled to Palm Springs, California and Saint George, Utah, and are gearing up for their next trip to Bullhead City, Arizona.
Wimberly is also a season ticket holder for the Stanford’s Women’s Basketball team and loves attending their games in her free time. She also likes to attend various sporting events like Warriors and Giants games.
Despite her fun-packed retirement schedule, Wimberly said that she misses teaching. She said, “I miss interacting with students and staff every day and teaching students about the importance of physical education. It will always be a big passion of mine.”
Wimberly is still part of the M-A’s Hall of Fame committee and plans to be back at M-A in the next few weeks to collaborate with committee members.
Reflecting on what she learned in her time as a teacher, Wimberly shared wisdom for newer M-A staff members: “The biggest advice I have is to treat everyone with respect. We have a very diverse community, so it’s very important to be fair.”
Wimberly made tremendous contributions during her time at M-A and our school will always be her home. She said, “I miss all the students and staff a lot. M-A will always hold a special place in my heart.”
