Inman Elementary kindergarten teacher Anessa Owens lives to inspire a love of learning in her students.
“I eat, drink, sleep, and breathe teaching,” said Owens. “I wake up in the middle of the night and have ideas of what I’m going to do in the classroom or something to add to what I’m going to be teaching.”
Owens worked in corporate America for multiple years, but she found it wasn’t fulfilling her heart. With the support of her family, she went back to school to change her own trajectory.
“I’ve always known from a little girl that I wanted to be a teacher, however, it took me a moment to get on that path,” she said. “That drive and that passion was still there for teaching.”
Now in her 10th year in Fayette County, she knows she found her calling working with first-year students. She works to give them extra love and create a loving environment where they’re open to learning and know they’re safe and it is okay to make mistakes.
“Kindergarten is that grade level where the students are sponges. They take in everything that you give them.”
She loves setting them up with a solid foundation, not just learning to read and write, but learning how to be good people.
“Knowing that I can change the trajectory of a child’s life means the world to me,” said Owens. “Building relationships, depositing positivity in them, and helping find the will and drive to learn and be a good person brings me great joy.”
“The Honor Role,” an official podcast for Fayette County Public Schools, features employees, rotating through key stakeholders, including teachers, staff, nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. Join us as we dive in and learn about their journeys, their inspirations, and their whys.
Episodes are available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and promoted on the social media channels of Fayette County Public Schools.
Episodes will also be available here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2200811.
Posted 9/24/2024
