I’d say I’m most passionate about helping people. I’ve kind of come to this idea that helping people can be more than just your job. You know, when it comes to doctors and nurses, they physically help people. But when I think about writers, I think they help people…it really shapes people. I’ve read some really incredible literature and met some incredible characters that have either brought out some truths in myself or made a connection.
I think the same thing goes with teachers. I feel like teachers go in knowing that they can help students. They might think that it’s just subjects that they can help them with, but I think they don’t understand they can really help kids. You can really shape a student…give them a guided path. That’s why I always talk about Mrs. Anderson. Everyone knows that I’m her No. 1 fan just because when I first got into high school, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know where I was going, where I saw myself with college, and with classes and everything. When I met her, she was so passionate about her job that it kind of led me to realize my own passions and to pursue them and to really work at them. I’ve always had my parents to be that guide but to have somebody outside of my house…you know, I go to school five days a week and to have somebody there that you can go to, ask questions, talk to, it really just was amazing to me. So I really credit her with making me think and make those decisions that I wasn’t so sure about, and just, kind of, established me as a person, I’d say.
The same goes with some other teachers that have really put me on this path and introduced me to so many things. Last year, my history teacher, Ms. Roach, told me about our Student Advisory Board at the school. I heard about it over the announcements but I really never thought about doing it. But her telling me, “I think this would be really good for you. I think you would be really good at this,” – her going out of her way, it was encouraging. And then Ms. Hurst this year and telling me about this program, Official for a Day. I’d never heard of it.
When I think about our teachers, I feel like so many of them are really incredible. Whenever I’m in Ms. Hurst’s class – she has a little “Weekend Update” – and, so no matter what class she has, she will take those 10 minutes just to really…care. She will stop for second, reflect and just be like, “What are you guys up to?” It is just something so easy and quick that’s just nice. It makes the classroom so comfortable. With her, she’s one of those teachers you could confide in and she would understand you and she would just talk to you. She’s kind of been like this little spirit, this light in my day that I appreciate so much.
Kind of going back to my idea of helping people…I think there are a lot of ways that you can help people, and I like that a lot. Even other careers…musicians, artists, painters, writers, directors, even athletes for some people – I think it’s important for other people to find that passion, to find that person that can help them.
#WeAreVBSchools
