The success of a teacher’s career is not measured in awards or salary but by the number of lives they have impacted. By those standards Cyndi Ebert’s career at Hills-Beaver Creek has been a success not only for herself but for the school district.She has taught more than 1,500 students in two subject areas during her 35-year tenure in Hills.Friday the district will celebrate Cyndi’s final day in the classroom with an open house. Although she is hesitant to leave, she said she knows it’s for the best.In 2004 her husband, Greg, retired from the district and moved into the home the couple built on Lake ??Since then she has spent her weeks living at the Morningside Manor apartments and her weekends traveling back and forth.As grandchildren continue to add up (the fifth is due March 14), she knows she will keep busy in her retirement.A Career PatriotCyndi and Greg came to Hills in 1970 without ever having stepped foot in Rock County.Not long after Cyndi graduated with a German and French degree, she and Greg met former H-BC Superintendent Dean Deragisch. He had flown to North Dakota to meet the couple and convince them that their career was meant to start at H-BC."We knew such a nice person could not be from a bad place," Cyndi said of their first interview.That fall she started as part-time employee teaching German and working in the library as an aide. Coincidently, she ended up sharing a classroom with Greg during those first years.Cyndi admits to being shocked by what? the small size of the community? when they got here, but adjusted quickly as she got to know the staff and students at H-BC.District administrators knew they had a quality educator in Cyndi and encouraged her to go back to school for an English degree."I knew I had to do it if I wanted to stay in the H-BC program. It was obvious that German was not going to be offered for long."Trials and TriumphsIn the mid-1980s, long after Cyndi had finished her English degree, she was told she would need to learn to teach via telemedia.The process involved teaching students in Luverne and Adrian using the Internet, a monitor and three cameras.At first the technique seemed impossible and Cyndi said she wasn’t enthusiastic about learning the process."I just didn’t think students could learn without having their instructor in the room with them."However, after some training and experience, she realized that a well-prepared instructor could use this method to educate students through distance learning.Her passion for the technique brought her to testify in front of the Minnesota Department of Education, who were opponents of the program.Ebert also remembers struggling with the state to keep the school district open when they wanted it to consolidate with Luverne."The people of Hills, Steen and Beaver Creek have a lot of pride in the school. I hope that always stays."Ebert said her proudest moments were when committees successfully kept the district open 10 years ago and managed to get the elementary school built in Beaver Creek.Life after the classroom"I always knew I wanted to be a teacher."So how does a life-long teacher plan to spend her days when she no longer has a classroom to call home?"I want one whole year to do whatever I want to."In addition to logging some long hours with her husband, children and grandchildren, Cyndi plans to learn how to golf.The lake the Eberts live on has an 18-hole golf course, and the challenge of learning a new activity sounds exciting to Cyndi.First and foremost, she plans to sleep in during the week. Even though H-BC asks their staff to arrive at 7:30 a.m., Cyndi is in her room by 7 a.m."There is always so much to do. I like to get here and get ready for the day."Cyndi calls Hills the only home she has had, and her eyes mist over when she talks about leaving after 35 years."This is my home," she said. "I feel I finally am growing up and moving away from home."