Stranded deep inside the woods, nothing but a bow, arrow, a foam target and your heartbeat. A draw back and release. The arrow screams through the woods; in a blink of an eye, the arrow spears the target, a perfect shot.

“I started shooting when I was about 25,” said Wheeler. “My significant other was really into archery, so I tried it a couple of times, and I was quite good at it right away.”

From that point, Wheeler decided to take her archery career to the next level. Wheeler, sponsored by a local archery shop, decided to compete in tournaments. During her career, Wheeler made it to the Archery World Championship twice, placing in the women’s top fifteen both times.

“The world championships were pretty big. I won a lot of tournaments. I even ended up shooting in the men’s division because there was better competition,” said Wheeler. “Women didn’t tend to shoot at the same level as men at that time. It was kind of cool; you get to be part of something.”

But according to Wheeler, her real passion is teaching.

“Archery was just kind of a hobby. It was fun, but I wasn’t making any money. But teaching’s what I love; that was the career,” said Wheeler.

Before coming to Wayland High School, Wheeler taught in Peru, New York for five years. After teaching in New York, Wheeler got a job teaching chemistry at WHS. This is Wheeler’s second year at WHS.

Wheeler has found ways to combine teaching and archery.

“I use archery as an analogy a lot when talking about accuracy versus precision. Archery is a good way to talk about that. When I used to teach physics I used archery a lot as well,” Wheeler said.

Although Wheeler doesn’t shoot anymore, she plans to continue archery in a year or so. Wheeler says she misses archery for one main reason: focus.

“You do not have to only clear your mind but think very closely at the same time,” said Wheeler. “So it really gives you a sense of focus that I don’t think I’ve really experienced before, where you have to shut everything else in and the world out and focus on exactly what you’re doing. It has to feel right.”