LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Jennifer Charles was nominated by a student.

"From September 2023 to January 2024, I learned the unimaginable; I never would have envisioned that someone in my life for such a short period could significantly impact me. As I was going through the hardest months of my life, Ms. Charles never failed to try her hardest to support me and motivate me to keep going. At Arrowhead Union High School, my Spanish teacher, Ms. Charles, truly changed my life," said the student.

"During these months, starting my senior year, I was coming out of a mentally challenging summer and an overly difficult first three years of high school. It took everything out of me to not lose hope and give my final year my all. However, I quickly got caught up in my anxiety and began to miss countless days of school. It's not every day that I meet a teacher who is so understanding and empathetic about the challenge of living with a mental illness and reaching my potential in school, but Ms. Charles was that person for me," said the student.

"I never once found myself frightened to talk with Ms. Charles about trying to catch up on schoolwork or simply what I was going through. Sitting down to talk with her in her office, I always felt heard. I felt like I could explain my circumstances to her without judgment and receive a second chance to show her how much of a strong student I could truly be. It was refreshing and eye-opening to see how supportive and compassionate she is," said the student.  

"Ms. Charles empathized with me just enough to help me feel like I was not alone and still pushed me to keep going. Even with the numerous absences in her class, I felt that I had learned more of the Spanish language than ever before as she genuinely cared for all her students and got us all to interact with each other, strengthening our daily skills. With her teaching style, I began to realize how much of the language I knew through talking with my peers, and it inspired me to want to take my knowledge and use it in college—hopefully by minoring in Spanish. With this newfound inspiration and confidence, I would love to study abroad or even live in a Spanish-speaking country one day," said the student. 

"Although I only had Ms. Charles for my first semester of Spanish this year, I will never forget the impact she had on me, and I am more motivated than ever to reach my full potential in Spanish second semester as well. I will always remember how Ms. Charles' kind and caring heart, probably without her knowing, changed how I view my life," said the student.