TEACHER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Chevonne Denson saw teaching as her destiny

ALBANY — Growing up, Dougherty County Teacher of the Year finalist Chevonne Denson says she always knew she would one day be a teacher.

It was her fate and her destiny.

“The backyard of my childhood became the foundation for making my dreams a reality. Surrounded by a basketball goal, neighborhood friends, a whistle and prized running shoes, my dream of teaching began to unfold,” Denson, a government and world history teacher at Dougherty High School, said.

She believed in the scripture, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Her path, however, was not an easy one.

“My first experience of ‘leaning not to my own understanding’ was very difficult and I didn’t understand why bad things were happening to me,” Denson said. “Although I always wanted to be a teacher, I experienced bullying at school because of the car my parents drove, the neighborhood I grew up in, and because I was shy and lacked social skills. My father would always encourage me to stand up to the bullies and to complete my education.

“My father said, ‘You will have hurdles and stumbling blocks, but don’t let that stop you from achieving your dreams.’”

Denson later earned a full track and field scholarship at Albany State University, where she graduated with a bachelor of science in 2003 and a master’s degree in education in 2005.

“As people invested in me, I see my career as an investment in my students,” Denson said. “I strive for my students to be problem solvers and critical thinkers,” she said. “I cannot control outside factors because learning is not only a pleasure; it is a requirement.”

The 2017-18 Teacher of the Year Dinner will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn on Front Street. The system also will recognize its retiring educators at the event.

In addition to Denson, the other finalists are Jasamine Dixon, Albany Middle School; Jacqueline Floyd, Westover High School; Torre’ Mills, Monroe High School; Rebecca Strickland, Lake Park Elementary School; Jordan Waller, Martin Luther King Elementary School; Shane Williams, Lincoln Magnet School, and Lydia Zuern, Sherwood Acres Elementary School.