Tonya Peck is the Fair Grove High School counselor and volleyball coach. She has been at Fair Grove for 23 years and plays a vital role for the student development in school.
As the Fair Grove student counselor, Peck works a lot with the student body. She takes on large school-wide responsibilities such as overseeing the scheduling system for the entire high school, and helping kids interact with colleges by sending transcripts, applying for scholarships, and getting involved with dual enrollment.
Additionally she commonly works with students one on one. She has helped countless students get through personal issues and ensure that they are feeling secure in their learning environments. This is one aspect of her job that Peck loves, she explained that her, “…favorite thing is being able to build relationships and be a helpful resource to students.”
Even though she has been the counselor for eight years, she is in her 23rd year of working as a volleyball coach. This year’s 2023 season has been one of her team’s most impressive yet. She led the girls volleyball team all the way to the state championship and was able to secure the victory.
According to Peck this was her favorite moment of the season. Peck doesn’t have many words to say how it felt to go all the way and win it all. She explained that, “Honestly, I’m still trying to take it all in. Currently it still feels surreal.”
Peck has coached and influenced many volleyball players to work their hardest and push themselves to be the best they can be, both on and off the court. Hannah Maxwell (12) one of the starting players on the volleyball team, said, “Coach Peck teaches us so many things about volleyball but she also teaches us life lessons. She cares for each of her athletes and is so easy to talk to.”
There is a lot of trust and respect that exists between Peck and her players. Faith Klindworth (12), starting libero for the volleyball team, talks about how much her coach respects and cares about all of the players personally. Klindworth stated, “The whole time when we were down she was telling us to stay calm and have fun, she never told us to step it up or anything, it was all positive and encouraging.
Peck is admired by her players because of the grace she shows them and because of her actions and mindset. Maxwell added, “Not only is Coach Peck a great coach, she also is a great person.”
When she is not at work, Peck loves to be with her family and spends as much time with them as she can. Peck explained, “We love to travel, go to the lake, cheer on the Chiefs, and just be together. It’s my all time favorite!”
Peck has proven multiple times over to be an important part of Fair Grove High School along with changing the lives of students on a daily basis.
