LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Carol Mansfield's nominator would like to remain anonymous.

Before she could change lives, Mrs. Mansfield had to change her own. She had dropped out of college, had three children, and was divorced. Life did not turn out the way she had dreamed. Mrs. Mansfield applied for college and was accepted into Ohio State University. It was tough being a college student and a mother of young children in elementary school, but she never considered quitting. After four years, her life was back on track, and she received her Bachelor's degree in education at age 35.

Mrs. Mansfield found her passion in early childhood education, where children are excited about school and learning. Mrs. Mansfield had the privilege of being the first teacher for many children. It's a joy for her to ‘show students the ropes’ of school survival, from raising your hand, to lining up, to going to the trash can if you're sick. The bigger joy for Mrs. Mansfield is her students' amazement when learning.

The kindergarten mind is like a sponge soaking up every drop of information spilled out. The progress her students make through the year is astonishing. Mrs. Mansfield witnessed children enter kindergarten without knowing letters and sound, By the time they exit kindergarten, they're reading books. Some students begin with very little number sense. By the end, they were able to count to 100, add and subtract, and were able to solve story problems.

The wonderment of mixing colors, the awe of hatching butterflies, and the pride of reading their first sentence. Mrs. Mansfield would see it all on their faces. She could hear it in their voices, “Teacher! Look what I can do!”

Mrs. Mansfield believes she makes a difference in children. That’s her job. It's when parents take note that her belief is confirmed. It's deeply satisfying for her when a parent expresses their amazement at their child's progress, knowledge, and accomplishments.

One time, the father of one of Mrs. Mansfield's students came to school about a behavior issue. He explained to her that he had been limited in his involvement in his son’s young life. As the student and his father were leaving the room for a private conversation, Mrs. Mansfield called the boy over and instructed him to take a book and read for his dad. A few minutes later, the father stood before Mrs. Mansfield with tears running down his cheeks. He said, “I had no idea my son could read.” That was the moment Mrs. Mansfield realized that education goes beyond the classroom.

Every day, there are moments that make an immediate difference: a tied shoe, an unstuck zipper, and a band-aid. There were times Mrs. Mansfield bought socks and underwear, provided Christmas gifts, and took students home when they missed the bus. She went to a wake for a student whose mother was murdered, and she cried with a child when Children’s Services took her from school to foster care. Mrs. Mansfield was the right person for those situations because she cares.

"Mrs. Mansfield made a life-long difference for many students by setting them on the path of learning. She not only made a difference in them, but in those who love them," said her nominator. "The small differences she made will ripple out throughout her students' lives and make profound differences in the lives of others."