PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A+ Teacher Susan Dodig is a good example of the monumental impact that can be made when you are exposed to different situations and experiences. Dodig teaches at Sweetwater Elementary School in Port Orange, but she was moved to pursue a career in the classroom when she was a high school student.

Learning comes first in Dodig’s class. She was a sophomore in high school when she volunteered in a classroom.

"It was just amazing to see students who learned differently be able to grasp the concepts that were taught and run with it — maybe just needing a little bit of support," she recalls.

That experience made such an impact on her that becoming an exceptional education teacher helping students with emotional and behavioral disabilities was really the only career choice for her.

Dodig says she knew right away that she wanted to teach.

"I was on my way to my guidance counselor to say this is what I want to do," she says, adding that she never looked back. "Well, altogether, I have been teaching for 31 years."

For 29 of those years, she says she’s been teaching the same program, in the same building and in the same classroom.

"We provide a very calm atmosphere, low voice tone, soothing music in the background," Dodig says. "We sometimes will dim the lights just to keep everything cool, calm, collected."

Dodig has big hopes for each of her students.

"Just to believe in themselves and that they know that they have a group that believes in them, supports them and we'll be here for them," she says.