OCOEE, Fla. — Educator Shasaree Hendricks focuses all of her attention in class on making sure her students have a promising future to look forward to when they graduate.
What You Need To Know
- Shasaree Hendricks is a college and career specialist at Ocoee High School
- Hendricks pushes her students so they can have options after graduation
- She didn’t initially want to go to college, but it led her on the path to being an educator
- Here’s how you can nominate an A+ Teacher 🍎
The college and career specialist at Ocoee High School said educating students is her calling, and it is personal.
“It’s hard out here in these streets with being an educator because we don’t really get the income, but the one thing that keeps me is the outcome, and I know outcome don’t pay the bills but the outcome of it all,” Hendricks said.
She loves to see her students’ outcome. She wants them to take advantage of opportunities while they’re in school, no matter the path they’re considering.
“The seeds we plant in here — we get to see the fruit of it at graduation or right after graduation or on decision day when they get those acceptances," Hendricks said. "That’s the biggest thing I like about teaching.”
She remembers exactly what getting that college acceptance letter feels like, too, but admits when she was her students' age, the situation was different.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to go to college," Hendricks said. "I just wanted to chill, but my mom made me apply to college. She made me apply to FAMU. That’s the school of my family, so I didn’t find out until the day after graduation that I got accepted.”
Hendricks can laugh with her students when she looks back now.
“So prior to graduation and everybody asking me what I’m going to do, ‘But go home and make a sandwich'," Hendricks said.
She said she knows there were more opportunities she likely missed when she was in high school, so she pushes her students to do their best and imagine the possibilities right now.
“That’s why I’m on them the way that I am to make sure that they have options,” she said.
She said having options is what led her to a career in the classroom.
“Fast forward to year 23. I realized. I honestly realized. It was my calling. I was called to be an educator because my goal was to impact the next generation because I know sometimes there are not a lot of students who have that person or people who they can go to and I strive to as much as I can to be that person,” Hendricks explained.