The person who made my freshman year one of a kind, and who I believe deserves the Educator of the Year award more than anyone, is my coach and Spanish teacher, Mrs. White. Mrs. White has many great qualities including being able to multitask, being a hardworking coach, and always being helpful. She is highly esteemed by her peers and students. Anyone who has had her, whether it was as a coach or teacher, will say that Mrs. White has left a lasting impression on them.

One outstanding quality of Mrs. White is that she  is definitely a person that can multitask with what seems like little to no effort. She can handle teaching multiple classes a day of Spanish I at the Delaware Military Academy, then also coach DMA’s field hockey team until 5 p.m. during the fall season, and still go home and grade her Spanish papers. To me, that seems impossible. Mrs. White can also handle all of these commitments, all while expecting a baby. Even though she is expecting a baby, she never slows down in her coaching or teaching. Also, imagine having to set up a whole nursery with such little time left after school.
   

Mrs. White is not a coach who will accept “I can’t,” laziness or negative attitudes. As a coach, Mrs. White strongly believes in team encouragement and putting forth your best effort when you step onto the field. During the field hockey season, if any of her players said the “C-word” which was “can’t”, she would make them do push-ups. Also, when we were in between drills and we had to move to a new place on the field, and the players were walking, then we would all run suicides. Another killer was in the beginning of the season, we weren’t talking or cheering each other on enough, so she made us keep doing suicides until we were all screaming and cheering. I guess you could say we were all in pretty good shape after a few weeks. Although, Mrs. White is a very tough coach, she definitely had good reasoning behind her ways. Walking off the field after every practice, I felt like I learned something new and did my best.  After only playing one season of middle school field hockey, Mrs. White pushed me hard enough and taught me the skills to be able to play varsity as a freshman. Coach White never stops pushing her players. She played field hockey in high school, college and even taught many other teams before she came to DMA. She has many great skills and knows the game like the back of her hand. Her being able to teach those skills benefits a multitude of people. Coach White is extremely altruistic when it comes to teaching her players and students.

Another quality that can’t be missed is that Mrs. White always does more than what is expected of her. She stays after school three to four days a week to help students who are struggling in Spanish. No student ever feels completely lost with no resources to help them in her Spanish class. She makes it very known that she will be after school to offer any help needed; she also shows her students many online study resources that we can do at home. Mrs. White is able to make learning Spanish enjoyable with her humor and eager attitude about getting things done. We have never done an activity in her class without Spanish music playing that wakes everyone up in the mornings.

Mrs. White offers first-time and experienced field hockey players, many leagues to join and clinics she thinks would be helpful to improve our skills. Not only does she find and recommend those to us, but she also puts together fundraising activities the players can do to help with the expenses. Mrs. White is very determined to get all players to the varsity playing level, and she offers a large amount of help along the way which is endlessly appreciated. She is not an indomitable person when it comes to her coaching and teaching.
   

In conclusion, Mrs. White has helped so many cadets reach success whether it’s in her classroom or on the field. I’m very glad I could see both sides of her, teaching and coaching. I also love how close-knit the field hockey team is. It feels like you have a second family! Mrs. White was the first person I thought of when I heard “Educator of the Year Award.” She is able to teach with enthusiasm and sarcastic humor, which can always bring the class alive. Mrs. White is an inspiring educator in the classroom and on the field, and for all these great qualities and more I am nominating her for Teen Ink’s Educator of the Year.