ZELLWOOD, Fla. —  Turning tragedy into hope: that is a message from this Orange County A+ Teacher. She is proof of the difference teachers make in the lives of students every single day. 

Megan Venning is a teacher at Zellwood Elementary School in Zellwood. She says she will never forget what a special group of teachers did for her when she was a child.

Science is hands-on and interactive in her classroom. Venning shared videos with Spectrum News 13 of the real-world connections her students are making in her classroom while conducting science experiments.

Venning says, "Today for example we did mixtures. So one of the groups got to separate trail mix. We talked about how the mixture can be separated measured based on properties."

Venning also teaches math and leads in student scoring proficiencies. She understands firsthand the learning blocks that students can have.

She adds, "Because of my past, I did struggle with learning."

She was just 7 when tragedy struck changing her life forever.

"My mom committed suicide," she reveals. 

One group stepped up and made all the difference.

Venning adds, "My teachers. I remember them coming to my house to show concern for myself and my family. I still have something that one of them gave me. They gave me a plant and I still have like the little duck holder that the plant was in." 

It's a reminder of the resilience she wants her students to take with them from her classes to never give up to always keep trying.

Venning says, "If you need help. Ask for it. There's so many in this world that we struggle sometimes and we don't know how to ask for help so when you are struggling ask for it."