There are many great teachers at Thunderbird High School who take the extra steps to help their students become successful in class and in life, but one teacher in particular who goes above and beyond is Shannon Miller. She is the AP and Honors Biology teacher and has been working at Thunderbird for for almost 27 years.

Mrs. Miller wants students to be successful in her class not just because it makes her look good but because she wants kids to understand the material so that they can feel good about themselves. One student who is currently taking her AP Biology class describes her as ¨the type of teacher who wants to put her students needs before hers and wants them to be successful outside of high school as well as in her class.¨ Teaching students life lessons and well as the required material is what a teacher should be doing because it will strengthen kids as students and young adults. 

She not only cares about her students’ results in the class, but also their well-being. Mrs. Miller is a mother of two girls, one of whom is in college. Being a mother, she is able to bring compassion and understanding to her workplace. One student who is close with Mrs. Miller says that she was struggling with a class that she was taking and Mrs. Miller was able to calm her down and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. ¨I was having trouble in an extremely challenging class and I had never felt that much pressure before. I started to freak, and I eventually told Mrs. Miller because the subject of the class came up and she let me talk out my feelings but then reassured me that what I was feeling was normal and that I was a hardworking student who would be able to achieve anything as long as I worked hard. 

‘Hearing her tell me that I could do it made me feel better and it gave me a new sense of confidence that I needed.¨ The fact that the student could walk away feeling better about themselves after talking through her troubles with Mrs. Miller shows how much of a positive impact she has on students’´ lives. 

Some teachers are only concerned with getting a paycheck and are only focused on teaching their lesson and checking the box. Mrs. Miller, on the other hand, is a teacher who cares about her students’ future. So, if you have a class with Mrs. Miller, take the time to say something nice to her and thank her for all of her hard work.