Walking into the choir room is like stepping into another universe. It feels homey, safe, warm, relaxed and uplifting.

The space is exactly what choir directors Carla and Jared Hardy wanted to create when they came to Chisholm.

Along with teaching for 21 years combined, this past year the Hardys won Sweepstakes for the sixth year in a row.

Before the Hardys taught here, they did rec center, led worship and taught at Frenship High School. Now they do a bunch of activities as a family along with directing choir.

“Since we’ve been married, we love to go on trips, we love to vacation, road trips specifically,” Mr. Hardy said. “We’re making a goal to take our kids to every single state before they graduate. We’ve traveled to 27 states already.”

Mr. Hardy says his life experiences have made him who he is, and he wouldn’t change anything about how things went.

“Because my parents were missionaries, they moved to Mexico. I stayed in the United States by myself, paid for college and lived on my own since I graduated high school,” Mr. Hardy said. “But if I had never left, I wouldn’t have been my own person. I knew that was not where God wanted me.”

Mrs. Hardy says Mr. Hardy is the best director she knows and working with him makes her day.

“It’s the best, he’s the very best teacher I know and I’m not just saying that because I’m being interviewed,” Mrs. Hardy said. “I didn’t want to be a choir director until I watched him teach choir every day and I just wanted to do that.”

For Mrs. Hardy, it never gets old teaching beside Mr. Hardy every day. She said it’s perfect for their marriage.

“Teaching has made our marriage stronger because we’ve fought all our battles together,” Mrs. Hardy said. “We try very hard to protect our marriage first, knowing that makes us better teachers. He’s my very best friend. I get to spend every day with him, and that makes me a better teacher and I hope it makes me a better wife.”