Small town, second-grade math teacher Jillian Everett has always been about action. Since she was a little girl, Everett has been inspired to help others.

Attending a small and under-resourced school near Cincinnati, Ohio, Everett received tremendous support from her school; particularly Mr. Perry, her math teacher from the fifth through eighth grade. He helped Everett realize her love for learning and her dream of one day becoming a teacher.

In Mr. Perry’s classroom, Everett saw firsthand how teachers can make a difference in students’ learning experiences by customizing lessons and personalizing attention to students. He empowered his students to develop their own problem-solving methods, allowing them to discover how they learn and to even enjoy doing it.

Now a math teacher at Felicity-Franklin Elementary School, Everett acted upon her own experiences as a student by adopting Mr. Perry’s philosophy of empowering and encouraging students to be active participants and self-starters to take charge of their learning. Each day, she strives to make each of her second-grade students feel safe, supported and encouraged in the classroom so they’re equipped to take charge of their lives when outside of the classroom and ultimately, one day as adults.

Teaching in the Felicity-Franklin Local School District, a small district with high poverty levels, Everett has learned to feel the same compassion toward her students that she felt as a young girl from others, like Mr. Perry. Everett is once again taking action, this time in her own education, as one of just 23 educators across the country who has been awarded the Teacher Appreciation Scholarship by University of Phoenix® College of Education, a full-tuition scholarship, which will enable her to pursue a master’s degree in education, to further her teaching knowledge and skills to help students succeed.

“With a master’s degree, I will be better equipped to provide my students the foundation they will need for success in learning and in life,” said Everett of Amelia, Ohio.  “I am deeply humbled by the opportunity and extremely grateful to University of Phoenix for giving me the chance to head back to the classroom to further my own education.”

By advancing her own education, Everett will develop the tools necessary to continue supporting her students in their success, and have the opportunity to be both a teacher and a student. Attaining a master’s degree will allow her to grow professionally and maybe also inspire her students to pursue a career in education just as she was inspired by her teachers.

“Teachers do amazing things in the classroom every day to inspire creativity, curiosity and student success,” said Pamela Roggeman, Ed.D., academic dean for University of Phoenix College of Education. “The Teacher Appreciation Scholarship program helps University of Phoenix to acknowledge outstanding teachers by helping them grow in their field, and we are proud to award this opportunity to fantastic educators like Jillian Everett, who work tirelessly to ensure every child in America receives an amazing education.”

Everett quoted Herbert Spencer in her scholarship application, who said “The great gain of education is not knowledge but action.”

She knows a master’s degree will not just expand her understanding of teaching, but allow her to take action on such knowledge to help her students. We can all learn from Everett’s philosophy—no matter what career path we are on—knowledge only changes lives when combined with action.