Adrian Nester is redefining what it means to teach English literature. As an Advancement Placement (AP) English teacher and AP grader for College Board, Nester’s passion for literature extends far beyond the classroom walls, inspiring students to explore the world through the lens of poetry and prose.

“There was no such thing as Advancement Placement English in Pittsylvania County Schools until 2010,” Nester said. It was then that the school district was accepted into a NMSI grant program, bringing Advanced Placement classes to rural areas. “The trainings through this grant really opened my eyes to the additional level of rigor that AP classes would bring to our students.”

Every summer, Nester joins hundreds of educators in what her family affectionately calls “nerd camp”—the AP grading session. Nester spoke further about the experience. “In a nutshell, we sit in a freezing cold convention center and score thousands of essays. It sounds awful, but it is fantastic professional development.” This year alone, the graders tackled 1.1 million essays from 389,000 AP Literature exam takers.

But Nester’s impact doesn’t stop at grading papers. She’s just returned from taking education globally, leading 50 students, parents, alumni, and community members on a literary adventure to London and Paris. With future trips planned to Greece and Ireland, Nester is determined to make international travel accessible to her students, broadening their horizons and deepening their understanding of the literature they study.

The impact of such an experience is immeasurable. Student traveler Casey Collie noted cultural differences as a valuable takeaway. “Each country has unique food, traditions, and language. It was nice to have experienced how people live in other countries and to gain an appreciation for the differences and commonalities.” Fellow student traveler, Isabella White, learned the importance of conversing in the native language. Parent and traveler Vicki Adams-Lovelace added, “I think students will have a new appreciation for things they often take for granted. Truly a great opportunity to put history into perspective or at least see aspects of it, rather than just reading about it.”

Back in the classroom, Nester is at the forefront of the “Teach Living Poets” movement. This innovative approach brings contemporary, working poets into the curriculum, allowing students to engage with living, breathing literature. “Of course, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Walt Whitman all still have a place in my classroom,” Nester explained, “but I’ll never be able to plan a field trip to hear them read their works.”

This blend of classic and contemporary has revolutionized Nester’s teaching style. She now teaches entire poetry collections, like Clint Smith’s Counting Descent, and even takes students to hear poets read their work in person. The American sonnet has found new life in her classroom through the works of Claude McKay, Wanda Coleman, and Terrance Hayes.

Nester’s commitment to diversity in literature is unwavering. Inspired by a 2018 infographic showing the lack of diversity in children’s book characters, she constantly strives to include a wide range of voices in her curriculum. “Children must SEE themselves in books,” she said, “and the same goes for teenagers.”

This focus on representation isn’t just about ticking boxes. For Nester, it’s about fostering empathy and understanding across cultures and backgrounds. She believes that literature has the power to connect us all, regardless of our differences. “Not everyone that comes into my classroom will become an English major,” she reflected, “but no matter what line of work they go into, I hope they take some lessons they learned from the characters and works that we study, to allow them to relate to or at least have a desire to understand someone different from them.”

Nester plans to continue to push the boundaries of what English education can be. From grading AP exams to exploring the streets of Paris with her students, she’s proving literature is not just alive—it’s thriving, evolving, and more relevant than ever.

In Adrian Nester’s story, every poem is a passport, every novel a new horizon. And for her lucky students in Pittsylvania County, the next great adventure is always just a page turn away.