**Originally written December 10th, 2007**
Good Evening distinguished guests, thank you for coming to the 2007 ASBSU Faculty Recognition Banquet. My name is Shannon Morgan, I’m the Chief of Staff for the Executive Branch of ASBSU and was asked tonight to speak about the importance of the student teacher relationship.
When I reflect on profound positive paradigm shifts I’ve experienced in my life, I can vividly see the teachers who helped to guide me there.
Believe it or not, when I was in high school, I was the loud obnoxious kid in class. I would be the one in the back, cracking jokes and distracting everyone from what the teacher was saying. You know… the kind of student you want to chuck an eraser at.
In lieu of eraser chucking…my theater instructor, Tom Willmorth (who some of you might recognize as being an actor for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival) pulled me outside of class and said:
“Shannon, I know you’re a smart girl so it’s about time you pull your head out of your butt and start paying attention. Your education is important, and you should give it a little more respect than you currently are.”
Shortly after this conversation I pulled my grades out of the toilet, had a part in every play from my Sophomore year to my Senior year, went on to become the president of the drama club and graduated on the honor roll.
More importantly, I left high school with aspirations of going to college, which was something I never believed I could do before I met Tom Willmorth.
As sometimes happens in life, rather than jump right into college like I had planned, I took a detour for a few years. I met my now ex-husband, got married, and had those two beautiful children sitting over there. (My babysitter canceled on me at the last minute so my 3 and 6 year old were there at the Banquet!) After being a housewife for six years, I found myself thrust out of my domestic environment and onto the campus of Boise State University.
When I first got here I was terrified and completely uncertain of what I wanted to do with my life. I took English 101 my first semester, where my instructor Marc Dziac, helped me uncover a passion of mine that I had long since forgotten: my love for writing. When I told him I was going to apply to write for The Arbiter but didn’t think I was good enough, he gave me the extra push I needed to have the confidence in myself to go for it.
Because of his support and encouragement, a year later I could call myself an award winning journalist and have enjoyed a very fruitful career at The Arbiter.
My third semester here, I took Forensics and Debate from Professor Marty Most. In my first debate round at my first tournament I completely froze up and bombed miserably. Afterward I freaked out, locked myself in the bathroom and swore I would never debate again. After composing myself, I went to give Marty the bad news.
He looked at me and said, “Why are you psyching yourself out? Those are just a bunch of kids in there. You’re an intelligent, determined mother of two. Are you really going to let them intimidate you? Listen… no one here can take this win from you but you.”
My debate partner Sean Watson and I went on to take third place in the novice division at that tournament and I have since decided to go to law school, in part because of my experiences in his class.
This semester I’m taking American History from Professor Blaine Davies, and I cant tell you how excited that man has me about studying history. He makes learning it exhilarating, its obvious to his students that he really has a passion for teaching. He is truly excited for us to share our thoughts with him.
I wait with eager anticipation to get my graded papers back from him because he always leaves me these cool comments. Its obvious that he’s actually interested in what I have to say, and isn’t just treating my paper (that I spent hours, upon hours in the library writing and scrutinizing over) as just another paper he has to grade in a stack of many.
I can’t tell you how cool I think that is, and how much I appreciate that he values my time and effort as much as I do. For a non-traditional student with two kids and NO time, such as myself, any bit of positive feedback from a professor can make the difference between pushing myself to get the A, and tuning out in front of the television because Im absolutely exhausted.
Sometimes students need that extra incentive, and help cultivating the confidence in themselves that they have that extra 10% required to do their best work.
Tying this all together, I feel fortunate that throughout my life some of my greatest moments were shared with my teachers, most of them work here at this University. I love Boise State for giving me these moments and helping me to cultivate the passion and drive I have to not only get my education but apply it to my life in a way that helps me grow as a person.
I’m going to be sure to instill in my children the knowledge that our education is valuable, and that if you engage the people who devote their lives to teaching you, the rewards you receive go far beyond what you learn in your textbooks.
I’m certain its through education we change the world. I’m proud to be here tonight to recognize teachers who are helping to do that, and to thank them for inspiring us all to be better people, working together to create a better world.”
Shannon Morgan Connected 