(KTIV) As students get settled into their classrooms this year, teachers are doing the same. For one Sioux City teacher, it’s her first year in the classroom. Thursday, she was reunited with her hero, who inspired her to become a teacher.
This is Mikellie Grant’s first year teaching 8th-grade History at West Middle School. She’s in the same district as her elementary school principal, the woman she says changed her life.
When Grant was in 4th grade, she and her family moved to Sioux City from Seattle, Washington. That move was hard on Grant and it affected her time at school until she met Amy Denney.
“Sitting with her, talking with her and anytime I was kind of freaking out or sad, I would go to her office. She was a constant safe place for me to be and that became my lifeline. That’s what got me to go to school and to keep going. As I got older and reflected on that I was thinking of the difference one adult can have and the impact that one adult can have on a kid. I wanted to do that,” said Grant.
Thursday, her story came full circle when Denney surprised Grant in her classroom.
“It’s so cool that I get to have this experience because so many people don’t. And to know that there are people that understand and that can be supportive is very helpful because this job is no joke. It’s tough,” said Grant.
They spent time after the surprise catching up and talking about Grant’s first year as a teacher.