TU Student recognized as Teacher of the Year
Post Published On:A Thomas University student was named District Teacher of the Year by Thomas County School System officials.
Melissa O’Neal, a third-grade teacher at Cross Creek Elementary School, earned the title after a lengthy nomination process that began in February amongst herself and colleagues throughout the county.
“I am excited,” she said. “I have been teaching for a long time, so it is nice to be appreciated and be recognized.”
O’Neal has been teaching in Thomas County for 21 years. She has been teaching third grade for the past 10 years. In addition to teaching third grade, O’Neal has taught pre-kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade.
The Thomas County native’s ability to teach a variety of grades comes from her love for teaching and the early relationships she formed with her teachers inside and outside the classroom.
Photo courtesy of Melanie Davis
“I just have always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “I knew very young—first or second grade—that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I just had great teachers. I got the chance to go to a tiny school and had a good relationship with them. My second-grade teacher said, ‘I can take you to the dentist after school if you have a dentist appointment.’ Things like that. It just made me realize that you can have good relationships with your teachers, and they value you. So, I just thought I want to make a change. I want to be that positive influence for others as well.”
O’Neal has made a conscious effort to translate that mindset into the relationships she builds with her students and their learning experiences.
“I am not tooting my own horn, but I am so involved, and I make things exciting,” she said. “I don’t just sit at my desk and say, ‘Go do this.’ I am up in front of them, and we are doing everything together. I am really old school in the way I teach. I am not going to get on the Chromebook all day and do lessons. I am up teaching. I am up interacting with all of them in small groups.
“If you don’t connect with your students on an emotional level from the beginning, and they don’t feel safe and that you’re not there for them, then they are not going to be excited and that is when they shut down. That is when they do not care, so I spend a lot of time on that personal level, making the connections with them.”
As she is helping her students learn, O’Neal is also learning. The Thomas County native is also pursuing her Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership at Thomas University.
O’Neal has had a longstanding relationship with TU. She earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from TU in early childhood education. She recently completed her ESL (English as a Second Language) Endorsement.
With her title of Thomas County Teacher of the Year and her desire to continually learn, O’Neal does not want to only inspire her students, she wants to inspire her colleagues.
“I want to be a good leader and be a good example to other teachers,” she said. “I feel like right now in education, a lot of people are leaving the field, especially younger teachers because of the pay. They are not willing to stick it out. Anything is hard the first couple of years you try, just like any job. These younger teachers are starting education and they are saying ‘I am not supported. I don’t make a lot of money. I am quitting and finding another profession.’ That is just sad to me, so if anything, I just hope I can be a good mentor, and be able to explain to people, you are going to have your challenges, but it is rewarding.”
