May 12, 2021
National Life Announces Grand Prize Finalists for LifeChanger of the Year
Celebrating those who are making a significant difference in the lives of students.
It’s been a busy spring for National Life with the announcements of our five finalists for our K-12 educator recognition program, the LifeChanger of the Year!
In California, Lani Matsumura, is a fourth grade teacher at Laurelwood Elementary School in Santa Clara. She grew up in nearby Los Angeles and attended schools in poorer neighborhoods.
Her experiences in education inspired her to enter the field for her career and she began teaching in Title I schools in LA. She has since moved to Santa Clara and excelled when her school had to go to remote learning.
She created fun, collaborative projects that exercise students’ curiosity, including a year-long class talent showcase. She also composed songs with all of her students’ names in them to make them feel valued as part of the classroom community.
In Texas, Azineth Buan, is a math teacher and department head at Memorial High School in Port Arthur. She is also a National Life policyholder!
She was recognized for her ability to make math a more interesting subject for students, including taking it outside the classroom. Her department created the “Math Stairway Project,” as Azineth called it, which displays the level of complexity of mathematical concepts as one climbs up the stairs. More importantly, it makes every student and staff member learn a math concept outside of the classroom setting.
She has also developed an incentive program that focuses on rewarding students’ positive behavior, attendance, and excellence in their education.
“She always reminds me of someone who is willing to teach on the streets with nothing and will still make the students learn,” wrote Glenn Mitchell, the principal in her school.
Lindsey Ison, who works in Fairhaven School in Niles, Ohio, was awarded for her tireless devotion to educating students, staff and families about healthy eating. From her first year at the school she began obtaining grants and creating new ways of spreading her educational mission. When Covid hit, she secured grants to ensure each student in the program received free lunches for the next four years.
She took the time to discover the high-risk needs of her students’ families and worked to create a Backpack Program, which required $30,000 in funding. Because of the Backpack Program, students have food going home with them on the weekends, when they are most at risk for food insecurity.
Outside school, Lindsey works with her children at a nonprofit called Making Kids Count, which is a volunteer program that works to provide nonfood essentials to families such as diapers, wipes, strollers, car seats, and more. She has combined her work and passion to send diapers with the food packets that go home to families in need.
LifeChanger of the Year Program Director Mallorie Manosh and Joe Bousquet of the Retirement Services team appeared virtually at a faculty meeting at Joplin High School. They announced that Sue Day was one of our five finalists.
“Educators typically enter the field because they want to make a positive difference for kids, but it’s not every day that an extraordinary soul comes along whose efforts at building relationships and validating the worth of individuals goes above and beyond what others are willing to give,” Superintendent Melinda Moss wrote in nominating Day for the award.
Day was recognized for her 48 years in education dedicate to such programs as Eagle Advantage career ladder program, Missouri A+ that helps students with high grades get into junior colleges with free tuition and books, and the Innovation Campus that helps students enroll in college-level classes while still in high school.
Day was also instrumental in helping Joplin recover from a devastating tornado that hit the community in 2011, setting up a makeshift counseling office at a nearby mall, guiding students through summer programs, applying to college, and getting grants.
Traci Thibodeaux was surprised by our LifeChanger team in an event on May 5, 2021.
Traci was chosen because of her remarkable story of rising out of poverty and returning to the neighborhood where she grew up to give children a new opportunity.
She founded Reve Preparatory Charter School in the Hiram Clarke neighborhood where she grew up.
“When I was younger and growing up in the community, my mother actually drove up to two hours to wealthier communities that had really great schools, which opened up all the doors I had after graduation,” Traci said in her LifeChanger profile. “I chose to start Rêve Prep because I never knew that I had an option not to go to college. That’s essentially the environment I want all of our children to be exposed to.”
Traci actually began her career in corporate finance in Chicago. But she was inspired by her own opportunities because of a quality education and went back to college to become a teacher.
She originally taught in Chicago but returned to Houston and founded Reve Preparatory.
Almost 80% of the student body is economically disadvantaged, and over 50% is considered at-risk. In addition, almost 30% are English Language Learners, and over 20% have already experienced early childhood trauma.
Stay tuned as we continue to announce more LifeChanger of the Year finalists! And, you can continue to nominate educators on the LifeChanger website.
