As a teacher, I know I make a difference…the question is, though, to whom, and what kind of difference? I will never know what kind of difference I have made to the students I’ve had in my last fourteen years of teaching. Yet, about once a year, I’ll get a Facebook friend request from a former student who seeks me out to thank me, or an email from a former 9th grade student who is now teaching and wants to tell me all about it. Those are the rare moments where I might have never known the impact I had in someone’s life…and it makes it all worth it.
I often think about this idea of “making a difference” when I see the excitement in the faces of children who are experiencing something for the first time: a first plant that grows from a seed, a first cake baked, the first impact of golf club to golf ball, a first flight. The promise of what Flight1 will provide for kids will always make a difference to the very kids who participate. Although we might not know the difference made, Flight1 will provide a moment of time that will be life-changing to the kids involved. How exciting!
– Colleen Sheehy
