Rewarding the desire to help

The moody attitudes from the students, as well as the stress from papers that must be graded and returned can be too much. The burnout leaves no motivation to get up in the morning to teach. All of it dissolves when she looks at the award by her desk, a reminder that all the work she has done was noticed and received recognition by her co-workers. It gives a sense of achievement and fills her with motivation during those rough days.

English ESL teacher Carolyn Pedrazine was awarded Harmon’s Teacher of the Year, her first award in her six years of working at Harmon. Voted among the teachers to decide who receives the award, Pedrazine was shocked and honored to receive such a prestigious award for her teaching.

“I think one of the reasons [I won] is because I help people on campus [and] I try to help the other teachers,” Pedrazine said. “It is such an honor for my fellow teachers to say they think I do a good job or they believe in me and that I’m helpful.”

Her inspiration to become an English teacher came from the movie “Dead Poet Society,” where an English teacher attends an all-boys boarding school and leaves a positive impact on his students, but they also leave an impact on him. Pedrazine hopes she leaves a positive impact each year with her new students as they do the same with her.

“When students bring me gifts they made or something like that, [it] always makes me feel really special,” Pedrazine said. “Students who made paper flowers [for my classroom] or who have brought me things from their country [make] me feel part of who they are.”

Since meeting at church 10 years ago, English ESL teacher Holly Genova admires Pedrazine’s dedication to teaching and the commitment to work compared to other teachers. Together they work as a team when the other needs help, always having each other’s back to create positive learning experiences for their students.

“[It’s] rare in today’s world that somebody wants to help and has that desire in their hearts to truly help others,” Genova said. “I like that we both have a passion to work with ESL students and it shows in how we work together. We always work together to do what’s best for our students.”

The countless memories Pedrazine has created with her students always stay with her, but among her favorites are the ones where students bring a gift from their cultures. To her it symbolizes trust and an offer to be a part of the student’s culture and life, making her feel special and included.

“She expresses herself so well with us,” freshman Mariana Aleman said. “There are times where she comes [when we’re having a bad day] and asks if you [are] OK. It feels good to feel someone cares about you.”

For 22 years, Pedrazine has been a teacher, greeting her students every day and helping them achieve success in class. Even as her patience is lost or the feeling of burnout sometimes plagues her day, she enjoys being a high school teacher and is thankful for the award she received.

“I have two pieces of advice [for new teachers],” Pedrazine said. “The first one is [they] have to take care of [themselves], especially that first year. The second thing I would say is [for them] to not forget [their] goals, not forget why [they’re] doing what [they’re] doing and hopefully that will help the students be the best they can be.”