What school did you go to?

I went to Rose Acres Elementary School and then I switched to Incarnate Word Academy Private School for high school. They’re both in the Pattonville district. 

How was your childhood home life? 

[My childhood home life]  was great. I loved my childhood. There was lots of love to go around. My older brother Brian [and I] hung out a lot. Our relationship was a classic brother-sister relationship: one second we were at each other like cats and dogs, and the next second, we were getting along, playing and having fun.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Used with permission of Diana Lurkins

English teacher Diana Lurkins prepares for a dance recital. From 3 years old to 7 years old, Lurkins danced at Diana’s Dance Academy. “I thought it was cool because my dance teacher's name was Diana and the studio was called Diana’s Dance Academy, and [Diana’s] my first name. That was the coolest thing when I was little,” Lurkins said.

What has changed, what hasn’t?

Screens, like phones and tablets, are definitely a big thing. We didn’t have anything like that when I was growing up. We had video games [like] Nintendo and Super Nintendo — and I can play a mean Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 — but most of our time was spent playing in the neighborhood with our friends. I grew up in a neighborhood that had a ton of kids so we spent a lot of time outside riding bikes and playing sports in the street.

When did you know you wanted to be a teacher and teach this subject?

Being a teacher was something that I always came back to growing up. When I was a little, I wanted to be a veterinarian and then I [was ]like, ‘No, I want to be a teacher.’ Then, for a while, I wanted to be a lawyer, and then I decided, ‘No, I want to be a teacher.’ My heart just kept drawing me back to it. My mom was a special education teacher and then she ended up [as] an administrator in the Pattonville district, so I always say that teaching is in my blood. I made the final decision to be a teacher my sophomore year of college; I started as a communications major and then changed to English. I took some great English classes my first couple years of college and I had this great professor [who] ignited that fire in me for English.

Tell me a childhood story that always makes you smile. 

When I was in eighth grade, for New Year’s Eve that year -– 1999 turning into 2000 — there was already a big celebration because it was the new millennium. My family ended up going down to Sikeston, Mo. because some [family] friends of ours who lived down there rented out a whole bunch of hotel rooms and were having a hotel party. There were a ton of kids there and we had a great time. At midnight, to celebrate the new year, the other kids and I all ran outside and jumped into the outdoor pool. It was very cold but it was very memorable and fun — an interesting way to ring in the new millennium.

What things make you nostalgic when you see /hear/smell/ feel them?

Definitely ‘90s music —  I am a huge ‘90s music fan because it reminds me a lot of my childhood. My dad was a big Eagles fan, so anytime I hear the band I always think of him. My mom had two Motown tapes that we used to play in the car all the time when we were driving places. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is the cucumber melon scent from Bath and Body Works. I don’t know if they still sell that or not, but that reminds me of middle school gym class; in the locker room after gym class, all the girls were constantly spraying it all over the place.