Have you ever had a teacher or professor challenge you in such a way that it influenced the direction your life took?
Have you had a teacher make a lasting impact in your life? Have you had a teacher inspire you to challenge yourself to push further, and reach beyond what you thought was possible?
I have.
Joining the band at the roughest high-school in Baltimore City was not an easy decision. As a football player, being a “band geek” was not something I had planned to add to my high school extracurricular. But the Band Director, Mr. Harry Watkins, was oddly persuasive and I owe him all the credit.
Mr. Watkins was one of the greatest teachers in my life. He selflessly taught me valuable life lessons from the moment we met, until the day he passed away four years later. His teaching methods were the perfect fit for me. He would simply dare me to challenge myself, to push myself – and as a kid who never turned down a dare, it worked.
He dared me to join the band. I joined.
He dared me to become the leader of the percussion section. I led.
He dared me to learn the set on my own. I did.
He dared me to try-out for the national band. I made the cut.
Noticing a trend?
Mr. Watkins influenced the direction of my life most when he dared me to apply to the Johns Hopkins University. I applied. I got accepted. And the rest, as they say, is history…
I wish I could say this story had a happy ending, but during my senior year of high school, Mr. Watkins passed away. He had invited me to visit him as he neared the end, a simple request given all he had done for me, but I was preoccupied with my mother’s illness and pushed off the visit.
Realizing I was being foolish, I went to visit Mr. Watkins. I arrived an hour before he passed. I was too late. Always the consummate teacher, he taught me my final and most valuable lesson: Everyday counts.
I was guilt ridden for days; however, I kept hearing him dare me to live every day to the fullest. I believed the best way to honor his life was to do just that: BE more, DO more, and GIVE more.
We ALL have had teachers who have dared us to be more and to challenge ourselves in order to reach our full potential – the everyday heroes who are truly underserved and undervalued.
Now is the time to do our part and honor these heroes!
We want to help you recognize the college professor who impacted your career path and help them continue to inspire others to grow regardless.
Submit your professor nomination here
The nomination window will close on Friday, June 10th, 2016 at midnight.
From the nominations, we will select the top 5 professors. Winning professors will receive Grow Regardless, a New York Times best seller, to use instructionally in their class(es) for one school year.
