LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Laura Hamm was nominated by her niece, Jennifer Bradley.

"My aunt Laura is a great teacher, with an emphasis on great," said Bradley. "She is absolutely a professional leader to her coworkers and students, and she continuously supports a positive school atmosphere. I believe she meets all the requirements of a LifeChanger of the Year award, and I am certain her principal, coworkers, and students would heartily agree."

The proof of Mrs. Hamm making a daily, positive difference in the lives of her students is in her regular Facebook posts of their accomplishments in class. Just recently, Mrs. Hamm posted about how proud she was of a female student for being able to break down a math problem and show her work. Mrs. Hamm talked about how proud and happy she was of the girl’s accomplishments this year.

She recently had a student who moved from South America. He arrived only knowing a few words of English, and he was very behind in every subject. Mrs. Hamm moved his desk right next to hers and tried her best to communicate, not only with gestures, but as best as she could through Spanish and English. Within three months, this child has shown huge improvement with her help; his English and math skills have greatly improved. She has many life-changing stories like these ones.

"At the end of each school year, I see videos of her class performing songs at assemblies. My personal favorite was Summer Lovin' from the movie Grease," said Bradley. "The words were changed for an age-appropriate audience, with the entire reference to their love for school. It was clear a lot of work was put into this performance and that the children had a great time performing the witty song. I wasn’t even their parent and I was proud and impressed by them! I was also impressed by the amount of effort it must have taken Mrs. Hamm."

"Another example of her ability to changes lives for the better is that she constantly has children come back to visit her in the classroom," said Bradley. "She has been teaching for long enough that former students are requesting for her to be their children’s teacher! Through my life, I only remember visiting my favorite and most influential teachers, and I would love if my children could have had them, as well."

Mrs. Hamm adds positively to the development of her school's atmosphere by being in charge of the Social Committee. This past school year, she was one of six teachers to lose a parent. She sent out flowers and cards on behalf of the staff to the five teachers. She lost her mother during the last week of school, but she continued to show up and provide her class with everything they needed for a happy and successful end of year party.

"I remember her checking in on students, even though it was a difficult and busy time. She received a bouquet not only from another member of the Social Committee, but from many other staff members," said Bradley. "Sending flowers through carrier is expensive, and to me, this shows how truly valued she is by not only the school, but her peers. I’ve also visited her school’s Halloween party, and she was the life of the party. Teachers and parents were constantly approaching her to say hi or thank her for something."

"Mrs. Hamm is a professional. She stays out of school politics and drama. She is a peacemaker, and I think her coworkers would agree to that," said Bradley.

Mrs. Hamm's commitment to making a nurturing environment would be obvious. Even in her time off, she looks for ways to bring fun and education back with her into the classroom. For example, when she visits Hawaii on her vacations, she brings back her love of sea turtles and educates the class on the importance of keeping the sea clean. On her time off, she likes to go on various road trips, and the whole time she is buying educational teaching items with her own money.

"Mrs. Hamm has high moral and ethical standards. I have mentioned a few times already that she buys things her students need out of her own pocket because she believes she has a duty to provide these children with the best education she can give them, even if that means she has to help pay for it," said Bradley. "She is never late to school and stays way later than she needs to, whether it be for parking lot duty, talking to parents, or waiting with students for their parents to get them. She is always telling me how funny her kids are when they try to rattle or gossip. Mrs. Hamm is strongly against it and teaches them against these wrongs."

"My aunt is a hard-working teacher, like most teachers who work longer than needed hours and spend a lot of their own money on their class. I would like to think all teachers can make a positive difference in a child’s life, but I’ve been through the school system and some teachers are forgotten. Mrs. Hamm is not a teacher to be forgotten," said Bradley. "She stands out because she goes above and beyond her role as teacher. She cares and teaches these children like they are her own. Mrs. Hamm lost her mother this year, yet was still able to find the strength to  be their for her class and make sure they got the attention they needed. She made sure their education didn’t suffer because she was."

"My aunt has been a teacher for a long time, and she truly deserves an award of recognition for all her positive work at school. So as a mother of two small babies with barely any time for myself, I sit here on the couch late at night after putting them to bed after a long day to write an essay about this woman who has rightfully earned recognition," Bradley concluded. "She comes highly recommended, not only by me, but by her boss, her peers, her students and their parents. Just ask around."