(Editor’s note: The Augusta Press will feature each of the five finalists for Richmond County’s Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced at a Sept. 28 banquet.)
After spending more than 20 years in the United States Marine Corps, holding a variety of roles, Master Sgt. Andrea Smith decided to pursue teaching in her civilian life.
Teaching for nearly eight years, Smith leads the Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps at Glenn Hills High where she was recently announced the school’s Teacher of the Year.
By explaining and teaching different concepts to her own children, Smith realized she had an affinity for education and wanted to help other students to understand as well.
“My kids always just said to me, ‘mom, you know what to do and you’ve got an easier way of doing things,” Smith said. “I’ve always believed if you’re going to teach something, you should teach it more than one way and I try to do that.”
Earning an associate’s degree in liberal arts from St. Leo University and a bachelor’s degree in social psychology from Park University, Smith later received her Master of Education from Trident University International.
First substitute teaching, Smith later applied to become Glenn Hills’ NJROTC instructor, where she felt truly at home following her time as an active Marine.
“I think the program might’ve saved my life, because it put me back in a military setting,” she said. “I was always told I hadn’t adjusted from the military, so when I came back to ROTC it was like a freedom of fresh air. I’m back to what I really know.”
Within her teaching, Smith said she prioritizes preparing students with life skills, the kind they can utilize whether or not they choose a career in the military.
“We have fun, and I get to get into their minds and see how they’re thinking,” she said. “I always try to teach life skills. You can learn the books but you have to have life knowledge too.”
Molding her courses around how she can make learning better for her students, Smith said she often takes her real world experiences from the Marine Corps and extends those lessons into her teaching.
“When I was in the Marine Corps it was about surviving,” she said. “In life, I tell them they survive everyday … when you come to school, you’re surviving because you’re trying to graduate to do something better.”
From basic concepts such as walking lightly in drills to ensure long term endurance to more complex ideas such as constantly being aware of one’s surroundings, Smith believes teaching should always strive to create responsible, independent and determined individuals who can contribute to society.
“It’s to teach them to go out and take ownership for what you do, in order to be a responsible citizen,” she said. “I want them to go out into the world and excel. Never think that you can’t be great, because you can … don’t just get out there and lay around, go out and do something great.”
Smith also teaches her students the importance of first impressions and maintaining one’s professional appearance.
“I tell them, ‘your personal appearance is everything. People see and judge that before you even open your mouth,’” she said. “That’s why everything has to be squared away.”
Wanting to encourage her students to achieve greatness while making lasting first impressions, Smith said tries to go above and beyond for her students by supporting them in all areas of life.
“I take care of these kids like they’re my own,” she said. “It’s important for them to know that if they need somebody, I’m here. This is a low socio-ecnomic school, so some kids get left through the system, but if they miss a couple of days I’m rolling up to their house to check on them, and find out what’s going on.”
With some students limiting themselves and undermining their own capabilities, Smith said teachers need to ensure that high schoolers understand the balance between pursuing one’s dreams while handling adult responsibilities.
“People always need to have a side hustle. So, strive for what you want to do but, at the same time, you need to have a way to pay your bills to get where you need to be,” she said. “If you think, after you graduate, your mom is just going to let you sit around, that’s not going to happen.”
If Smith is chosen as Richmond County’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, she hopes to encourage her own students by setting an example with her own achievements from humble beginnings.
“I was shocked when I became a finalist, because for an ROTC teacher it’s unheard of. I was just overjoyed,” she said. “I’m so honored.”
The Richmond County Teacher of the Year will be announced at a banquet on Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center starting at 7 p.m.
