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Above and Beyond Award: Education Thomas Henderson’s fiancée, TerraDiane, was “selfless” and helped him overcome challenges—including a flood—to earn his degree and become the best third-grade teacher he can be. The Above and Beyond Award is presented annually to a friend or family member of a graduating student whose support went above and beyond the call of duty and made it possible for the graduate to achieve her or his goal. Here's the nomination letter for one 2007 recipient.
I remember a time during my undergraduate work at Niagara University when a professor said to me, “Tom, you will have to make sacrifices on your path to becoming a teacher.” This was proven true during my student teaching sessions, when I had to sacrifice time with family and friends to accomplish my goal.
When I moved on to graduate-level work, especially as it was an online program, I thought this would no longer be the case. I was quickly proven wrong, however, as the Walden University program is very demanding. There was no way that I would have made it through were it not for my fiancée, TerraDiane Clancey.
Sports teams have cheerleaders, fans and booster clubs, but I had the love of my life standing behind me the whole way, constantly encouraging me and helping me to become a better teacher than I ever thought possible.
I met TerraDiane at a difficult time in my life, in the beginning of my graduate coursework. I knew that our relationship might suffer because I wouldn’t be able to fully devote my time and attention to her, as I needed to focus on completing my degree. From the start, however, she was unconditionally supportive. Never once did she complain or make me feel guilty for turning my attention to my classes instead of her. TerraDiane even said we could not get married until I graduated—which was all the motivation that I needed!
She shared my successes throughout my graduate courses, because she was just as invested in the program as I was. She was always the one I could turn to for advice, encouragement and loving support. TerraDiane was truly selfless during my degree program, and she knew just how important it was to further my education—not just because I needed a degree to hold my certification, but because it made me a better teacher.
I recall last summer when our community was ravaged by devastating floods, and I was without power for the better part of a week. I was in the middle of EDUC 6620 Collaborative Action Research and fretted about how I was going to get my work done. Even as I became more and more panicked, TerraDiane remained calm and helped me to logically solve the problem. She suggested I call a cousin who lived one town over to see if I could use his computer while our electricity was out. Her suggestion worked perfectly, and I ended up getting an A in the course.
It would have been easy for TerraDiane to ask how I could think of my graduate work at a time like that, but she understood how important it was to me and how hard I was working and that even Mother Nature’s wrath couldn’t keep me from reaching my goal.
But perhaps the best example of why TerraDiane deserves the award is what she said to me after I graduated. After she hugged me, she asked, “What’s next?”
I know that no matter what my educational endeavors might be in the future, she will continue to be by my side through it all. She wants me to be what every great teacher should be—a lifelong learner.
About the Award
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©2007 Walden University |