Sheronda Powell

I'm currently a math teacher at Case Academy in Houston, Texas, where I teach 6th through 12th grade students in Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry. What I love most about my work is being able to inspire and motivate young people to refocus and help them discover they can do things they didn't think they could do. I work at a disciplinary alternative school, and the biggest benefit is being able to help these young people that have gotten off track and love them back into a sense of belonging and focus. I usually only have 20 to 30 days with these kids on average, so I have to make a quick impact quickly. I always tell them, 'This is where you change it. If you don't like it, this is where you change it. This is your time, this is your power, and you have to use it wisely to direct now where you want to go.' Before teaching, I was a collegiate women's basketball coach for about 13 years, from 1995 until about 2018/19, coaching at the junior college level, Division II as a volunteer coach, and Division III as an assistant coach. I was also a very decorated college basketball player and All-American candidate before I blew up my knee my senior year. I played professional basketball overseas in Spain and China, and was even called to go to the WNBA, though I didn't go at that time. I've also been an academic advisor at Regent University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When the Uvalde shooting happened, it changed my life - I cried for two days and said I have to go back and help. Within about 30 days, I was coaching girls' freshman basketball at Dwight Eisenhower 9th grade school in Houston. I'm currently working on my K-12 math certification through Texas Institute, and my goal is to get it within a year. Whatever I do, I put passion and excitement and my heart into it - it's genuine, it's really for real. I don't do things halfway - I'm doing it 100%, or I don't do it.