“ The fact that Dr . O ’ Kelley had so much faith in me was a blessing . She believed all her students were capable of doing great things . Sometimes , all we need is a little reassurance from time to time .”
Another small , yet impactful phrase she used to say was , “ Okay , let ’ s try that again .” These five words seem so insignificant , but on the contrary , they carry so much meaning . She would usually say this after the majority of the class didn ’ t understand something she said or taught . Dr . O ’ Kelley would stop what she was doing , and rephrase or redo it . It was that small sentence which made me understand that , as a teacher , your students may not understand how you have explained something , but there is nothing wrong with changing your point of view and trying out a different approach . In other words , at first you may not succeed , but try , try again .
The most valuable thing that Dr . O ’ Kelley has taught me is to be open to new opportunities . She would always tell us that growing up she did not enjoy math , so she would try her best to avoid it . Ironically , after being in the army , going to law school , and being a lawyer , she is now a math professor . Hearing of her many great accomplishments makes me want to remain open to all of life ’ s possibilities as I look forward to new adventures that lie ahead . The fact that Dr . O ’ Kelley had so much faith in me was a blessing . She believed all her students were capable of doing great things . Sometimes , all we need is a little reassurance from time to time .
Dr . O ’ Kelley always showed kindness towards her students , just as anyone wants to be treated . I always appreciated how she would talk to us as if we were all her friends , not just her students . She knew us all by name and could even tell if we didn ’ t understand something just by the looks on our faces . One day , I remember she noticed me staring at her , confused because I didn ’ t understand something she had taught , so she explained it again in order for me to understand it . She would do this for every student in the classroom . Even if we didn ’ t catch onto the subject in class , we were always welcome to visit her office for extra help anytime the door was open . Another trait I will always remember about my professor is her sense of humor . She loved to make jokes on herself , trying to keep the class upbeat . When the students were having an off day , she would throw a funny joke in-between lessons just to lighten the mood . Not only did she want herself to be happy , but she also wanted her students to be happy . This is something I will never forget about her and , hopefully , I can carry it over into my classroom in the future . The best part about being in her class was just being around her . She is such a fun and outgoing person . When you see the excitement on her face , it makes your day , even your week , better . Dr . O ’ Kelley ’ s ultimate goal was to teach us how to be great teachers , and she , unknowingly , also showed us how to be happy and caring teachers .
If I could tell Dr . O ’ Kelley anything , it would be “ thank you .” Thank you , Dr . O ’ Kelley for being the great teacher you are and for inspiring me to one day be a great teacher as well . Your class alone made my first year of college so much better than what I was expecting !
Leanna Morgan Rogers is originally from Fork , South Carolina . She is a 2016 graduate from Lake View High School . She is currently working part-time at Rose ’ s Express , while going to school fulltime at Francis Marion University as an Early Childhood Education major . continued continued
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