I literally wouldn’t be here typing right now if not for Anne Lewis, who might have been the only person other than me to believe that I was going to be able to do something with my life.
Ms. Lewis – I still can’t bring myself to call people from that time in my life by their first names – made sure that I went to college, which wasn’t easy, given where I was coming from.
Trailer-park kids like me don’t usually get to college, money being a big obstacle, what money, lack thereof, can do to one’s psyche being the bigger one.
Ms. Lewis was my guidance counselor at Wilson Memorial High School, and her confidence that money would not be an obstacle for me was infectious.
She pushed me through every part of the FAFSA process, made sure I applied for every scholarship known to man and woman.
Because of her, I never doubted for a second that I’d be able to do it.
Looking back on it, I should have had lots of doubts, but that was the effect Ms. Lewis had on me.
I also remember her driving my debate partner and me to the state debate championships in her convertible with the top down, and her leading the effort to raise money for our state champion Pop Quiz team to be able to compete at nationals in Chicago.
Good times. Great times.
Because of her, I matriculated at the University of Virginia, graduated, moved on to a career in journalism, helped launch Augusta Free Press, use it to try to have a positive impact on the community, make a good living in the process.
I don’t know that educators always know that what they do can mean so much to the kids whose lives they help shape.
Ms. Lewis, Anne, thank you.
Story by Chris Graham
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