RED SPRINGS — The inspiration of an educator goes a long way, especially for a local Red Springs High educator.

Teresa Patterson has been an educator for 26 years, thanks to the impact of one of her former high school teachers.

One educator made all the difference to Patterson, as she navigated 9th-grade, she told The Robesonian.

The teacher “saw me and my capabilities,” she said.

That was the moment she decided to become an educator herself.

“It made the difference in how I saw myself; thus, I saw the power teachers have in shaping the outlook of a child,” Patterson said.

Now, she can take the role once held by her former high school teacher.

“I get to pour into the life of a child in a way that can shape their future and inspire them to do more and become more than what they can see or imagine,” she said.

Patterson told The Robesonian she enjoys inspiring her students and watching them “thrive” after they graduate.

“I believe that all people have purpose and have value and can add to the conversations that are happening around them. It is my goal to equip students with the necessary tools to express themselves and engage in the conversations happening in the rooms that they occupy,” she said.

The St. Pauls resident told The Robesonian “the belief that I am making a difference” helps her overcome challenges in the classroom brought on by COVID-19.

What also keeps her going is “allowing students to see that in the face of the greatest adversities we still have to show up for ourselves and others around us,” she said.