LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Bethany Seal was nominated anonymously by a parent of a student.

"Ms. Seal is the English teacher you want your kids to have," explains her nominator. "She's tough and expects a lot from her students, but that's what makes her so great. She doesn't accept anything less from students than their best work, and she really pushes them to make sure they can get there, while also supporting them."

"My child's confidence and writing ability have really improved this year in Ms. Seal's class," said the nominator. "My child has never been the best writer, and her favorite subject has never been English until now. All of that has so much to do with Ms. Seal. She really cares about her job, and she holds the kids accountable. She's hard on them, but she also gives them praise when it's earned. Ms. Seal takes her job seriously, and she expects her students to take theirs seriously, too, but they also have fun together."

Ms. Seal dresses up for homecoming week and is full of spirit. She also jokes with the kids and does really cool projects with them, thinking of creative ways to let kids express themselves and show they understand the material.

"My daughter really likes art, and she talks about the drawings they do in class to help analyze stories or poems, which I think is really cool," said the nominator. "Ms. Seal also had her students do a blog project where they pretended to be a character and had to include a video, which is another really cool idea."

Ms. Seal has the "best classroom," with tons of books and a bunch of different places to sit. Her students are free to be themselves with her. She has a relaxed classroom environment, but expects great stuff from the kids.

"Ms. Seal reached out to my daughter every day when she was quarantined, and she even let her 'come to class' every day online. She cares about her students and doesn't want them to feel like they're behind," said the nominator.

Ms. Seal is the head of the English department at her school, leads the English honor society, and writes grants for materials and activities for her class. She teaches advanced students and pushes them even further to be better, instead of letting them settle for doing okay.

Ms. Seal's nominator picked the following songs for her profile playlist:

• Stronger by Kanye West - Ms. Seal doesn't let the kids make excuses; she simply tells them the challenges will make them tougher and stronger
• Started from the Bottom by Drake - She takes students who aren't great at things like writing and makes them great
• We Are Family by Sister Sledge - She treats the kids like they're her own children (or maybe younger siblings). She makes sure they know they're loved and accepted, even though she's hard on them.

"I'm excited to be able to recognize Ms. Seal for being a great teacher for all of her students and for pushing them to be their best selves, while also accepting them for who they are as people," said the nominator.