Mr. Hobbs changed my life. As a little girl, I didn’t understand the value of an after-school teacher until I was older. I didn't know that those few hours spent with an aftercare teacher could teach me more than I realized. In the sixth grade, I met my after-care teacher, Mr. Hobbs, and little did I know that his classroom would become like a second home to me. During my middle school years, Mr. Hobbs became more than just my middle school teacher; he became like an uncle to me. Mr. Hobbs would play with us at recess every day; he would tell us how much God loves us, play card games with us, teach us life lessons, and even become our “student” while we played teacher and taught him another language. Most of all, he would constantly remind us of the purpose we had inside of us through Christ. One time, he sat us all down individually and encouraged us. When it was my turn, he told me how proud he was of me and that I would do something amazing in this life and keep God at the center of my life. All those moments and memories (which made me fall in love with going to after-school) have impacted my life ever since. Sadly, Mr. Hobbs passed away a few years later from a heart attack, but I will always keep his leadership and words in my heart. A few years after this tragic incident, I began my first job as an after-school teacher and had the opportunity to love and influence each of my students because of the impact Mr. Hobbs made on my life. I believe Mr. Hobbs would be proud of the woman I am today because I followed His example and kept God first while I led my students. I was able to buy birthday gifts and make birthday cards for my kids. I played tag with them in the hot sun (just like Mr. Hobbs would do), I taught them card games, I gave them life lessons, and one compliment my students gave me was that I was like their mother and taught them how to love. Currently, I am an assistant director at an aftercare program and am blessed to be able to get to know many of my children and their families. Through this position, I can instill educational and influential clubs and activities for our children. I plan to add more field trips, family engagement events (game nights, dances), student-led concerts, and more. Mr. Hobbs will always be an important part of my life and I am honored to have followed his footsteps and poured out what he has poured into me.

As a young aftercare teacher, it was my joy to make school more exciting for my students. When I worked at an enrichment program near Atlanta, I had sixteen 2nd and 3rd graders. Every day, I would create a new activity to help them understand the curriculum better. I'd come dressed as a historical figure and let them ask me questions; other days I took them to the park and had them reenact what we learned. I would also give them mini plastic animals and have them tell a story about what they learned from the lesson. In all I did, I made sure I was involving each student in the lesson, and I loved that they could relate the lesson to their own lives. There were also times that I would play math and English bingo or have them reiterate a lesson. As a teacher, I realized the classroom is not about me but about us. It is about a family learning and growing together, and I have found that diligence, goal setting, and kindness produced impactful and lasting outcomes in my classroom.  Getting to know my students was also beneficial when it came to engaging my class. One year, I created a book with one of my students who loved to write and wanted to be an author. That was her safe space and happy place. I not only admired her love for writing but also put in the work and came up with a creative way to show her that I cared about her dreams and was willing to help her get there. There was another school year where I created a class book with my students because it was exciting for them and educational at the same time. I've learned that listening to my students and planning activities that they liked (mostly educational activities) made them want to stay in aftercare.  Lastly, I maintained a positive, cheerful, and enthusiastic demeanor. Body language is crucial when it comes to a child's development. It is especially important because my students learned more from my expression than from my speech. One day, one of my students came up to me and told me that they usually play teacher at home with their imaginary students, and they would act like me. They said it was so fun because they were able to lead a classroom with imaginary students with so much joy! Those moments filled my heart because I could see the impact that I had on my students. I would eventually give them my old lesson plans so they could continue playing, but it was amazing to see how greatly your body language can impact a child.