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Even before earning her degree, Lawrence knew a lot about teaching. She had attended a rural high school in northeastern Ohio, and found that all her volunteer work involved teaching or tutoring. She especially enjoyed tutoring math.

She also had an ideal role model in the Chardon public school system, one she remains in contact with today: her mother, Susan Lawrence, who taught fifth-graders for 35 years.

“When I was younger, I used to beg and plead to go into school with her to help organize things in her classroom, grade papers, or any other type of task she could come up with. I also know firsthand what a great teacher she was because I was a student in her classroom when I was in the fifth grade.”

Those lessons were learned well. After graduating from Ohio State, Lawrence took a job at Sevier Middle and has been teaching there since.

“When I was applying for teaching positions I filled out a few applications for Ohio schools, but I was really hoping to move south. The small city I’m from in Ohio is infamous for having massive amounts of snow every winter.

“When I first came down to interview in Greenville, I had never heard of the city and figured it was probably in the middle of nowhere and there was no way I’d want to take the job. I was completely wrong,” Lawrence recalls. “I loved Greenville and thought it was absolutely gorgeous, especially the downtown area. Sevier Middle School had just moved into a brand new school that year, and I was shown a huge classroom complete with lab stations and a demonstration table. I was sold! I accepted the job the next day and started making plans to move.”

The only downside is time — or a shortage of it. “There is never enought time for everything I’d like to do. I could stay in my classroom nonstop working and still have more ideas for new lessons I’d like to plan out, or things I’d like to make and post in my classroom,” Lawrence says.

Her favorite aspect of teaching “is feeling like I am making a difference in the lives of my students,’’ she says. “There is nothing better than helping my students succeed.”

The same mindset makes her enjoy coaching volleyball, which she introduced at Sevier during her second year at the school.

“When I went into education, I knew I wanted to coach. Most of the girls I coach have never played volleyball before, and it amazes me every year how much they improve throughout the season.”