 The best characteristic of Mrs. Ballard is she puts those students and their lives before anything else and that has built that trust in the students when it comes to academics. They open up to her. And Stephanie did such an incredible job and still does to this day of creating an environment that embraces everybody for who they are, where they are, and everybody works then to get better. Seeing them rise to that occasion and see them take this huge risk and then be successful at it. Just, it means a lot to me and it really, it brings a lot of passion to my work. I think through her personal life and everything that she's been through, she sees all of the bigger picture in everything and she wants to impact the world in any way that she can. Everybody has a background, everybody has a story. Her learners being able to see that vulnerability allows them to further deepen that connection with her. She had some life circumstances happen. Some very life-changing life circumstances happen. Two years ago, my son passed away. I almost quit teaching. I found that educators are some of the most supportive people on the planet. They found a way to help me teach through a difficult period of my life. I think that impacted her, where speaking from the heart of, I'm here to serve. I'm here to help. I'm here to make a difference. And she partnered with another teacher here to create a real inclusive environment. I am lucky that I get to co-teach in our inclusion classroom. We intermix our general education students and our special education students into one classroom. Students with disabilities should have the right to be in the general classroom to not only learn the content but to socialize with students that are their age. Research tells us that students do better. They meet more rigorous standards when they're in the general classroom with their peers. I also think it's more equitable for our general education students to be exposed to students that are different for them to learn that not everybody thinks like me, not everybody has the same needs as me. I think it will help us build more empathetic communities that truly celebrate and care about diversity. She knows that addressing the needs of a diverse student population is important, so she is stepping out of her comfort zone because it matters to her students. She's inspired me that I can do math and help other people with math. If they don't know what they're doing, she doesn't have to always come over to our table. I can help people at our table. Math was not my favorite subject, but it's definitely one of my favorite subjects now. She's really creative in how to make this material and put it into the real world. This project is called That Costs What. These are actual orders from the pheasant restaurant. She tries to make everyone feel equal and that no one's above or above. It's more than a job and it's a calling. It's something that I believe that could make a difference for a family, for a young person, for a community as a whole, for years and generations to come. She has the attitude of just being there every day. She loves what she does and I hope she continues to do what she does because it's amazing.