Ovid-Elsie Area Schools provides our students with the skills they need to succeed in the real world. This feature helps show how we do that, in addition to being able to keep in touch with some of our past graduates. Today’s feature is Jerry Snyder, class of 1995.
How Ovid-Elsie Shaped My Life – Jerry Snyder – Class of 1995
Even now as I speak to my students in North Carolina about life the word “Ovid-Elsie” resonates in my mind. I teach a leadership class for freshmen upon which I have developed my own curriculum that focuses on six core principles – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. It’s amazing to me to hear many of my students mention how they’ve never been taught these values. As I think back to my own youth I know exactly where I learned them. They were taught to me in the schools and around the people of Ovid-Elsie.
Trustworthiness – A character trait I learned my first days of Kindergarten class from Mrs. Rose Thering. This woman was the one who I started my education with and the elementary things I learned from her I took home with me as the truth. As a child I saw teachers as the adults with the most integrity. I believed that these people could do no wrong. These teachers taught me the value of loyalty as they continuously donned their blue and gold on Fridays to support our local sports teams and our community. Their spirit was infectious and a symbol of solidarity.
Respect – A word which will always be synonymous with a man in my mind. I thank God, for the day I was introduced to Coach Dennis Baratono, a man who often struck fear into others, but was also a man who commanded great respect. Coach Baratono taught me the strength of a handshake and the internal power of looking someone in the eye when speaking. I truly learned how powerful respect is when I attended a celebration to honor Coach Baratono after his retirement from the Ovid-Elsie football program. I witnessed many players from years past return to Ovid-Elsie to congratulate and hug the man who influenced their lives just as he had influenced mine.
Responsibility – I think that all of my teachers from Ovid-Elsie helped to teach me how to be a more organized, determined, responsible person. However, I credit my public speaking teacher Mrs. Cyndi Stevens the most for inspiring me to be something more than I thought I could be. She gave me the opportunity as well as the support to find my own voice. She along with so many others was the one who inspired me to become a teacher.
Now that I have earned that title of teacher I practice the other two important character traits I learned the value of while attending Ovid-Elsie. Caring & Citizenship – As a teacher I want to be known as a mentor and a person who cares about the well being of his students. In just five years I have earned the respect of my fellow teachers and the respect of my students and was awarded the Teacher of the Year. When I first came to North Carolina I really didn’t have much of a connection with the students. To be honest it I hated it because it wasn’t anything like home. I didn’t earn the respect of my students until I really listened to their stories and shared a few of my own. But through the years things have got better and finally I’ve come to feel that this is my new home and everyday I try and teach my students the values that I learned back home in Ovid-Elsie. Whether it be Coach B’s handshake etiquette or Mrs. Stevens’s classroom presence there is a big part of Ovid-Elsie in my classroom down here in Statesville, North Carolina.
Should you know of anyone who would make a good feature for this column, please send contact information to: Bonnie Ott, Ovid-Elsie High School, 8989 Colony Road, Elsie, MI 48831, or e-mail it to bonnieo@oe.edzone.net. We look forward to hearing from our Ovid-Elsie Alumni!
