Finding her purpose

As I peer around the corner of room 107, Christina Young’s ombre curls were bouncing up and down to the loud beats of Beyonce. Her lipstick-stained coffee occupied one hand and the other attempted to put on her FHC staff name tag while dancing to “Run the World.”  With the computer speakers turned up to the highest levels, drowning out everything that was once in my mind before I stepped into that hallway, thoughts ran through my head questioning if this was even school.  

Despite giving students the education they need, knowing about them and what’s going on in their lives has a way deeper meaning than just knowing what they got on the last test they struggled or didn’t struggle with. Teachers who know why they teach and live that out each day they set foot in the school tend to be the ones students interact with more. Ms. Young, teacher at FHC portrays every quality of the “perfect teacher” that I hopefully imagine in my head.  

“I was not a very good student, but I was not a bad student. I really wanted to get to those kids who feel like they’re just floating by and give them a purpose,” Ms. Young said.  

Students who struggle or do not put forth effort are not always just lazy, tired, or do not care, but usually goes deeper into their personal life.  

“The most important thing is to have trust and a relationship. Sometimes you have to put academics on the backburner and focus on the person and help them find the good in themselves. Approach it then as, ‘What do you need from me?”’ explained Ms. Young.

Former student and A+ Tutor Erik Webb was able to be taught and teach alongside Ms. Young.  

“She is a lot of fun and makes the learning that way too, but keeps you on task at the same time,” Webb said.  “Ms. Young is very good at building relationships with the students.  She relates to the kids and makes it important to get to know them better.”

Getting students to feel comfortable enough to talk to you about important details of their life all starts with showing you care in the first place.

“I like building relationships with all students and athletes because I like being someone they can go to no matter what. Even if it is the most horrible thing in the world, that’s the whole point of being an educator,” Ms. Young said.

Being a soccer coach, Ms. Young gets the opportunity to be with students not only in a classroom setting, but as well as outside on the soccer field. Ms. Young has coached freshman girls for a couple years now and shows tremendous dedication for the girls, the team, and building  a foundation for the next level.