Hannah Thompson, a teacher aide for the Health class, looks back fondly upon the fun times she had in the fourth-grade. These memories fuel her interest in creating similar memories for other students. 

Instead of aspiring to become a lawyer or a doctor like some of her classmates, Thompson’s career was influenced by her peers and past teachers. Several of her teachers helped shape Thompson’s career, but her memories made in fourth-grade helped define her career path. 

“Ideally, the fourth grade would be fun to [teach],” Thompson said. “I remember always liking fourth grade and loving my teacher.”

Many of her teachers throughout her time in school inspired Thompson to become an educator just like them, but her fourth-grade teacher has always been her primary influence.

“She was just really nice to me,” Thompson said. “You can tell that she cared about all of her [students], which I appreciated. I could also see she wanted what was best for me by being [helpful] and genuinely caring.” 

Her fourth-grade teacher helped her to be inspired to finish her education, but other teachers taught her strong life lessons that also fueled her love for helping others. 

“Any teacher I look back on that I remember liking went out of their way to make sure that you were understanding the material,” Thompson said. “I was always very appreciative.” 

Despite Thompson wanting to teach at an elementary school level, she assists Health teacher Laura Ryan by helping out with rowdy and anxious high school students. By assisting with an elective, she gets to enjoy teaching all the grade levels at the high school.

She started this position as Ryan’s assistant at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, but if the opportunity to help out next year rolls around, she is willing to do it again. Since Thompson is going to school to become a teacher at the University of Phoenix, her job in Ryan’s classroom is to assist her, observe her, and learn how she runs the class.

“I think it is a great experience to be in the classroom and see how [Ryan] does things,” Thompson said.

Thompson’s reason for being in the class, alongside Ryan, goes beyond just being able to learn from a current teacher. She decided to take the job in order to prevent Ryan’s mom from getting sick as her role is to step in when Ryan is out taking care of her mother. 

Over the past few months doing so, Thompson has worked alongside Ryan and is thankful for the experience.

“I love working with her,” Thompson said. “[I think] she is a great person and a great teacher. I love seeing how she teaches [and] that I [can have this] experience for the future.” 

Working alongside Ryan has given Thompson more insight into the job. Along with working with Ryan, Thompson also attends school to accomplish her dreams.

And if Thompson’s peers and past teachers had discouraged her from becoming a teacher, she could have seen see herself being a stay-at-home mom, continuing to love and care for her family. Thompson and her husband have an almost two-year-old son named August. For a while, Thompson stayed at home with August to care for him until diving back into education.

“I would love to do it again with future kids,” Thompson said. “I want to definitely travel [too]. My husband [and I] eventually want to move out of the state [and go somewhere warm].”  

Despite the obstacles and roadblocks, Thompson continues to dedicate herself to becoming an educator. She wants to be able to give students fond memories to look back upon, and she is setting out to accomplish just that.

“I want to help kids the same way my teachers helped me,” Thompson said.