LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Robin Crotwell was nominated by an anonymous colleague.

"In my years of working at Morton High School, Ms. Crotwell has always been a friend and mentor, not only to me, but to many of the teachers and students she comes in contact with on a daily basis," said the nominator. "She has a passion and love for her job and goes above and beyond daily. When I started working at Morton, Ms. Crotwell was the Algebra 1 teacher. She made her students love her class, which was reflected by her student's state test scores. Whenever I would have a student come into my class from Ms. Crotwell's class, they would always come in with excitement and energy and would be raving about the new skills and techniques that Ms. Crotwell taught them."

"Not only is Ms. Crotwell a great teacher, but she is also a great listener," said the colleague. "When I first began teaching, Ms. Crotwell was always someone I could go to for advice. When I was unsure of a teaching technique that I was doing, or when I needed a friendly ear to listen to me vent about my day, she was always there and offered friendly encouragement and advice. I remember how she would tell me, 'College can never truly prepare you for teaching. You have to get out and experience it on your own and learn from your own mistakes.' This was something that stuck with me for a while."

Today, Ms. Crotwell serves as the school counselor at Morton High School. In her short time as a counselor, she has been able to transform the day-to-day operation of the counseling department and has been able to help and support even more teachers and students of MHS. Not only does Ms. Crotwell make sure that teachers and students feel supported, but she makes sure that parents are just as supported.

"She truly is a hidden gem for Morton High School and deserves a nomination of this magnitude. I'm nominating Ms. Crotwell for this award to show her and all of Scott County what she means to our school and district. If anyone deserves this award, it is her," said the nominator.