Lura Wilhelm's art teaching career goes the distance, as she maintains relationships with teachers, administrators and students.

Wilhelm, who is an art teacher at University Preparatory School in Redding, said she encourages anybody to be a teacher. "It's the most fulfilling thing that I've ever done."

As an artist, she creates murals across the city and hosts community art shows. And then there's the swimming.

Wilhelm started marathon swimming a few years ago, with her most recent challenges including swimming the English Channel and the Catalina Channel.

She knows she'll make the swim to retirement, too. "Having a retirement for myself through CalSTRS is pretty nice because I know I'm going to have a paycheck for the rest of my life. I'm able to see when I'm able to finish and have a plan for that."