News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Joyce McCoy is shown in her office at Alpena High School in this photo.

ALPENA — In her career as an educator, Joyce McCoy has forged many long-lasting relationships and made a difference in the lives of countless students.

In an award-winning career spanning more than 50 years, McCoy has worked for Alpena Public Schools, changing lives and pursuing projects to help her students. McCoy started as a junior high and high school home economics teacher and is now the APS CTE director.

McCoy started her journey in teaching when she was still in high school. She came over from Alpena Catholic Central as a shared time student and took home ec courses, which sparked her interest in teaching.

“Probably when I was in high school,” McCoy said. “I came over here as a shared time student from the Catholic school and I loved what I saw and I loved home ec and I loved everything about that and that’s what I went to college to become and from that I became many other things, but that certainly was a good start for me.”

When she first started teaching, McCoy shadowed a teacher who was her own home ec class instructor.

“Oh I was really nervous,” McCoy said. “I actually took home ec here when I was going to Catholic Central — the other high school that was here — so I was teaching alongside of the teacher that taught me and it was really scary. But she was ready to retire shortly after and the place became mine.”

In 2020, McCoy won a statewide award for her efforts as the APS CTE director; an award McCoy said came as a complete surprise.

Along with being nominated and winning, McCoy made a difference in other areas as well. Included in the document her friend wrote are many accomplishments including designing programs in collaboration with Alpena Community College, writing state grants to update classrooms, and being appointed to various legislative boards. She also led brunches on the state capitol lawn which eventually led to chairing a CTE showcase in the capitol.

Over the years, McCoy said, she has had students come back and tell her how her efforts have helped them in life. With a career as long as hers, McCoy said she’s had grandparents, their parents, and their kids come to see her.

“You know when you’re in the school that long, you get to know families and I think those are the rewards that all teachers and all people in school districts like to hear is when they come back and say ‘Hey you’ve influenced my life’ ‘you did this or that’ and that’s a big deal,” McCoy said.

McCoy said the best part about working at the schools is the staff. She’s made long lasting connections with many staff members she’s worked with and said she’s worked with many great administrators as well.

“I think the people I work with,” McCoy said. “I really enjoyed all the superintendents I’ve worked with, all of the administrators I’ve worked with over the years, and especially the teachers. I’ve met so many and worked in so many different capacities and, you know, my job I hope was always to make everybody else’s job easier. And so that’s what I look at. That was always the reward was making everyone else’s job easier.”

As much as she enjoys teaching, McCoy hasn’t stopped learning either, always learning new things as new developments are made in education and technology. She said her father never thought of retirement and she has taken the same approach in her career.

“Absolutely,” McCoy said. “You know my father owned a business here in town he owned a car dealership way way back in the early years, some people in town still know him, he owned the Dodge Chrysler dealership and he never talked about retirement and never talked about you know when he would not work anymore and so I think that’s what we always thought as business people, they don’t talk about retirement, they just talk about working and working, and that’s why I never thought about retirement as an end, but, you know, as an opportunity to still work and do things you know.”

Over her years as a teacher, McCoy said she’s learned the value of having a supportive community.

“Oh a lot of things stuck with me and that was to value, you know, your community and value the people that you work with,” McCoy said. “Absolutely.”

Difference Makers is a weekly series that profiles Northeast Michigan residents who do extraordinary things to improve their communities and the lives of others in ways that include volunteering and their professional work. If you know a local difference maker, please contact Alyssa Ochss at 989-358-5680 or aochss@thealpenanews.com.