By Michelle Watson | Thoughts on Innovation
After attending a graduation ceremony a couple weeks ago, I found myself thinking not just about the graduates and their futures, but about the teachers who helped get them there.
At a time when there is an ever-changing landscape in education that dominates the headlines, it’s worth remembering something simpler and far more personal: teachers change lives every single day in ways they may never fully realize.
I know because one changed mine.
My family moved to Arizona from the East Coast when I was 12 years old when my father’s job with IBM was transferred. We settled near Tucson in Sabino Canyon in the Catalina Foothills, and I attended Orange Grove Junior High and then Amphitheater High School.
Looking back, I had a wonderful upbringing and childhood but academically, I wasn’t really engaged. I was strong in English and literature but math and science were not exactly my gig. This is where all the advanced courses lie and I just really didn’t find myself in a particular lane, as far as career options, which wasn’t very motivating. I was the classic “middle of the road” student – mostly Bs and some C’s here and there.
But then I took a retail merchandising class taught by Mrs. Newman at Amphitheater High School.
At the time, I probably thought I was just signing up for another elective. What I didn’t realize was that class would completely alter the trajectory of my life. I found the course work to be interesting, engaging and so fun, so me! And, my teacher brought all the possibilities of a future and career to life. She painted a picture of the course work and how it was transferred to real life and a career.
I am a creative person, so that spoke to me, not all students resonate with STEM, and I finally felt seen.
Mrs. Newman didn’t just teach merchandising. She taught confidence, professionalism, leadership, and the idea that work could actually be creative and exciting! She encouraged students to think bigger about themselves and their futures. Through her encouragement, I joined DECA, the business and marketing student organization that gives students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, leadership, finance, hospitality, and marketing. I competed in DECA conferences that were both terrifying and thrilling at the same time. You had to think on your feet, be creative, present and sell your ideas. Mrs Newman helped prepare us with mock presentations and confidence boosting feedback. I also had to have a JOB along with that class. I was further able to connect the dots from my course work to my job with real life experience and Mrs. Newman was there every step of the way. Everything in her classroom also applied to life outside of school. That was a game changer for me.
For the first time, school felt connected to the real world. It clicked.
Something shifted in me after that. My grades dramatically improved. I became a straight-A student. Even with working 25 hours a week plus school Junior and Senior year, I managed to graduate early from high school and start at University of Arizona Spring Semester, before transferring to Arizona State University, where I earned a degree in Advertising and graduated with honors.
The gained confidence I gained was not just academically, but personally. I started believing more in my capabilities of building a meaningful future for myself.
I also found inspiration from another important influence: my girlfriend’s father, Jay Taylor, who owned Taylor Advertising. Watching him successfully build and run a creative business planted another seed in my mind. By my junior year of college, I was already working at an ad agency in Phoenix, gaining hands-on experience in an industry I genuinely loved. From there I worked for in-ad house agencies, a TV station and in cartoon licensing (Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Flintstones etc.)
Looking back now, it’s easy to connect the dots. But at the time, none of it felt certain.
And now, 40 years after graduating from Amphitheater High School, that entrepreneurial spirit ultimately led me to create and sell a widely popular product on Amazon- Snap-n-Go Seat Sheet. There is now a utility patent pending and the feedback from the Arizona community has been overwhelming.
As I reflect on the path that brought me here, I can trace so much of that drive and confidence back to courses that engaged a spark… and to one teacher: Mrs. Newman. I saw her once years later… and thanked her, but I wasn’t that far in my just career yet…I often wonder if she ever realized just how profoundly she influenced the course of my life.
Teachers often never get to see the long-term results of their work. They may never know that a struggling or average student sitting quietly in the back of the room eventually built a successful career, started a company, raised a family, or found confidence because someone supported and believed in them at the right moment.
We tend to celebrate entrepreneurs, executives, athletes, and public figures for their achievements. But behind so many success stories is a teacher who first sparked the belief that those achievements were possible.
For me, that teacher was Mrs. Newman.
And while my career has taken many unexpected turns since those Tucson school days, I still believe one of the most important lessons I learned came from that classroom: sometimes potential simply needs someone willing to recognize it before it fully exists. I also believe that having other creative options for students who are not interested or strong in STEM have other options at their schools. Teachers that can showcase and support in these areas are KEY.
That’s the true power of education. And it’s why great teachers never stop shaping lives — even decades later.
Editor’s Note: Michelle Watson is founder of founder of Snap-n-Go Seat Sheet
