Meet Brooke Burt. She is a caring mother to two girls, a loving wife, and a teacher at Lakeview Academy. Brooke attended college at Ole Miss double majoring in chemistry and English. It wasn’t until her senior year in Oxford, Miss. that she dropped chemistry and focused completely on English. She made this decision after tutoring elementary school children in English and falling in love with teaching.
After earning her degree, Brooke moved to Hall County with her husband, Preston, and started working at Brenau University. After working at Brenau, earned her Masters in English and taught at Gainesville High School. Currently, Brooke is teaching at Lakeview Academy, a private school in Hall County.
Brooke’s husband, Preston, was a teacher as well before being recruited to work at the CDC. Brooke and Preston are very involved in the community and their church, First Baptist. They both met through a choir/mission trip to Washington D.C. when they were 16 years old.  
“He (Preston) sat in front of me on the plane and we just kept talking,” she said.
Becoming high school sweethearts and falling in love was the just the start to their story together. They now have two daughters, Ella (sixth grade) and Audrey (second grade). One of Brooke and Preston’s favorite ways to give back to their church is participating in the annual “Living Christmas Tree” each year at First Baptist. 
We were recently able to sit down with Brooke to talk about her life here in Hall County and ask some questions.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “In college I volunteered as a tutor for elementary school kids and fell in love with teaching.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “2 Dog, I get the spinach and portabella mushroom quesadilla.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “14 years.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Hall County?
A: “Michael McCann, he is a teacher a Lakeview Academy as well. He went to Harvard Divinity School and he just knows everything.”
Q: If  you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “New Zealand, I have a friend that went there to build a school out of recycled materials. They seem very environmentally conscious and it just seems like it has everything.”
Q: What is your favorite movie or what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “My favorite movie is ‘Shawshank Redemption.’”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Always seek out kindness and be kind, because the person standing right in front of you might really need it.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “To learn another language fluently.”
Q: What is your favorite music/three bands you would like to see dead or alive?
A: “Billy Joel, Dave Matthews, and Tim Reynolds.”
Q: What former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “There was a used book store called Emerson’s or Cafe and Crepes.”
Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non relative: with whom would you love to have lunch? Why this person? Now, where in Hall County would you have this lunch?
A: “Gregory Boyle, a priest in Los Angeles who started Homeboy Industry. He changed my life through a book he wrote called ‘Tattoos on the Heart’ and he is very compassionate and understanding. We would have our lunch at 2 Dog, of course.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “I love the community feel, I see someone that I know everywhere I go.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “Here in Hall County watching my daughters graduate high school and contributing to the life of the community.”
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I’m a yoga instructor and I can balance my whole body weight on my hands.”
Q: What are three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family, peace, laughter.”
 
The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live or work in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.