Tabatha Cohorst, or Mrs. Cohorst as you may know her, is a teacher here at Palestine High School.  She teaches classes such as Chemistry I and II, Algebra I and II, and Physics. Cohorst is in her third year of teaching science and math to kids at PHS.  Starting this year, she has begun to teach Algebra I to eighth grade students at Palestine Grade School as well. Before coming to Palestine, she worked at several others schools, such as Lawrenceville and Kansas in Illinois and even in Delta, Colorado.

Mrs. Cohorst is 47 and was born in Anderson, Indiana and grew up in a town called Gili, which is just outside Newton, Illinois.  Living outside Newton, she wnt there for elementary, junior high, and high school. Her favorite things about high school were her friends.  Throughout her childhood, Cohorst always wanted to become a teacher. She loved to play school with her younger siblings and teach them the ABC’s and numbers.  When she was in high school, everyone, such as her guidance counselor and friends, said she was “too smart to be a teacher” and that she should go to school for a job that would earn her more money.

In eighth grade, she went to a computer contest at EIU, and loved the campus and its old buildings and castle along with its closeness to her hometown, so after graduating from high school, Cohorst attended Eastern Illinois University to obtain a pre-engineering degree. While Cohorst was at EIU, the University of Illinois sent people to “sell” different engineering programs.  When the ceramic engineering people came to Eastern, it seemed like an ideal profession for her because of the applications to the world and secure job placement after graduation. She chose to transfer to the University of Illinois to study ceramic engineering because that was the school most people went to get a degree in engineering. After being at U of I for a semester and two weeks, she decided that her heart was not in ceramic engineering.  Mrs. Cohorst decided to move back to Charleston to attend EIU to get a physics degree with a teaching certification.

Mrs. Cohorst enjoys hanging out with her husband, Dave, and looking at memes with her daughter, Tera.  She also likes to spend her time volunteering at places like food pantries and reading (that is if she can stay awake).  The people who have influenced her most are her parents, who taught her about the importance of hard work and integrity. Another person who influenced her in her profession choice was her high school physics teacher.  When asked what her greatest accomplishments were, she stated, “Definitely my two children, Isaac and Tera.” Mrs. Cohorst’s most special thing about herself is her ability to make others laugh and put them at ease.

Her favorite thing about teaching is getting to know her students.  “I appreciate how much effort she puts into helping her students,” said Brendyn Piper, a PHS senior.  Mrs. Cohorst loves teaching here at Palestine, because we have such a positive and supportive atmosphere that most schools don’t have.  Stuart Smith, one of her coworkers stated, “She is a great person, and she does a great job teaching at PHS.” Mrs. Cohorst loves teaching, and plans on continuing to teach students for a while. In the future, Mrs. Cohorst wants to continue to teach, and has considered getting into administration.  Her other plans include eventually retiring and traveling all over in her camper.