When I was in high school, I had an art teacher who used to push me to do my best.

My art teacher was not the type of person to hand out A’s to everyone just because we finished our assignments.

She had high expectations for us.

If she honestly believed we could have done a better job at our projects, she would grade us according to her expectations.

She would also give us advice on how to improve and think of more creative approaches with our artwork.

In college, students are expected to use critical thinking skills to contribute to discussions and share ideas with others.

In order to do this, professors have to force critical thinking out of students by pushing them to think outside of the box.

Professors are not here just to simply give out homework assignments and reward grades to students.

They are here to inspire students to rise to their potential.

Students may find the encouragement from instructors to be inspirational.

An inspirational teacher is someone who tells you not to give up.

An inspiration teacher is someone who believes in the abilities of their students and gives their students the motivation to persevere.

Some students may not experience this positive energy from some of their professors, but students should not take for granted professors who push them to do their best.

Students should find comfort in the fact that an educator of a higher status believes in their ability to make it in the real world.

Role models can show up anywhere, and people can find ambition in the most unexpected places or circumstances.

Although I am a journalism major in college, I received motivation from an art teacher in high school.

And I’m glad that my art teacher expected more out of me than simply showing up and doing the bare minimum required to pass the class.

My art teacher’s ambitions for me also caused me to have ambitions for others.

I was a journalism counselor for a high school group over the summer.

Not only did I give them advice on the articles that they wrote, but I also tried to inspire them to be as creative as possible with their writing.

I’m sure that someone out there has a story that is similar to or even better than mine, where someone pushed him or her to be successful.

The motivation that educators give their students can hopefully cause them to become role models to others in the future.

Alesha Bailey is a freshman journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or

DENopinions@gmail.com