Willie Turral

Thank you for the nomination! Teaching is a tough occupation. With the Coronavirus the nation is starting to understand how important our careers are. Most teachers would agree that teaching is more than a career it is something you are called to do! Before I was called to be a teacher I was a Director of Operations of a national non-profit known as AMI KIDS Inc. As a director, I was tasked with the management and oversight of 32 students and 54 full and part-time staff. During my 7 years at AMI, I built some outstanding professional and personal relationships. I learned a lot about myself. Truly when I first started my mentality and behavior were closer to the students than the staff. Before the director, I was a night shift worker p/t. Within the year I was promoted to Direct Care Staff and soon after Behavior Modification Specialist. My job was to monitor and document students' behaviors and to meet with the students to discuss goals and weekly progress. The interesting thing is the more I tried t correct the behaviors of my student the more I realized my behavior needed correction. Through working with them and learning with them I began to grow up in my personal and professional life. They taught me more then I could have ever imagined. One key value I always relied on was honesty. I told the students the truth about my self, my challenges, and my triumphs. This allowed many students to open to me. They felt like they could talk in confidence and I would understand them and most times I did. The times I didn't or couldn't I just listened. As you could all understand I became attached to my students and I wanted the very best for them. On the job, we were required to have three student mentees. The program considered this a special relationship. The mentees would become like your children. You would celebrate their success with them. You were also determined successful by how successful your mentees were. It was a competition, and I like to win. So..I made sure my mentees stayed on the top of the list and we bonded. It was nothing short of a family and I was a big brother! I loved working at AMI I still miss it. However, one thing about family, it hurts when you lose a loved one. Twice as much when they have yet to live. So there was one rough week. I had a kid that wasn't my mentee but wished he caught a charge while in the program. He made a huge mistake and he paid the price by losing the rest of his childhood. He was 15 and got Juvenile life. He would not return home before the age of 21. I had a mentee leave the program and caught a murder charge, he was facing life as an adult. Two months prior my son's favorite student was shot and killed at a house party in Charleston. He was only 16! I was broken. I was angry. I was being dishonest. I kept telling my students everything would be okay, but that was a lie! I was lying and I knew that it would not be okay for everybody. The truth was that a lot of these boys couldn't read or write past the 2nd-grade level. Without an education, a skill set, a trade, a safe environment, a trusting relationship these boys didn't stand much of a chance. I remember tearily eyed talking with the boys in a large group. I remember not being able to finish and apologizing. I didn't want them to see me cry they had enough on their plates. One of the boys must have told Malik my mentor who was facing murder charges about the incident. a few days later a letter from the correctional facility Malik was being held. He wrote he heard I was hurt and he wanted me to know that I did all I could. He wanted me to know I told him the right things, showed him the way but he made his own choices. He told me he wished he would have listened and not beat myself up. The letter made me feel worse! There had to be more I could have done. It was there I decided what my purpose was. I was going to become a superhero. I was going to save lives. That is why I teach. The most important dynamic factor of risk that we can change is education. I was going to go back in time and save Malik before it was too late. My greatest contribution to teaching is my love for my students. I am the kids I teach. I understand it and I also know the importance of the gift they often don't appreciate. The gift of education. Although not often observed if you ever get the chance to see my class action you won't recognize some of the kids from years previous. They become someone else when they are with me and its beautiful. My greatest accomplishments are the kids. Their gains, their growth, their success. I have students from the programs that are now fathers and married. I have students who write just to say thank you. Soon I will be attending graduations of former students. But truly nothing beats the walk from the bus stop every day and being able to smile and bring a smile to a child, nothing like it in the world. Thank you for your consideration!