LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Andrea Atkinson was nominated by Sumeyye Kucukosman, her colleague of three years.

Ms. Atkinson goes above and beyond for her students. Sometimes educators do not want to drop their shield in front of the students because they're worried they might lose their respect. For example, not all teachers would dance and act goofy in front of their middle school students. But Mrs. Atkinson is not one of those people. She meets students at their level, and she earns their respect in a heartbeat. She can be firm and sweet at the same time.

"Andrea is loved by everyone, including her students, colleagues and administrators. She is willing to take any task that has been assigned to her and does a wonderful job," said Kucukosman.