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Photo courtesy of Iron City Studios.
Vickey Bailey receives a Golden Apple Award.
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Photos courtesy of Iron City Studios.
Andrea Maddox receives Golden Apple Awards from 2024 seniors.
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Photos courtesy of Iron City Studios.
Toni Motley with the seniors who selected her for the Golden Apple award.
Each year, Chelsea High School senior honor graduates get to bestow an honor of their own, the Golden Apple award, to a teacher who has had a significant impact on their life.
As part of the ceremony, students prepare statements that detail why they selected that teacher and present them with a plaque and have a photo taken with them.
Chelsea High history teacher Ryan Adams said the ceremony is a special tradition for both the outgoing seniors and the honored educators. Throughout his career at Chelsea, he has received 40 Golden Apples, including eight this year.
“Each of them, I can assure you, means as much as any other because each symbolizes a different relationship that is built,” Adams said. “Each educator is initially drawn to the profession because they maintain a certain passion for the subject they teach. Notwithstanding that fact, I came to realize long ago that I am not a teacher of American history, I am a teacher of students. History is merely the means to do that.”
Adams said that in most jobs, proficiency is determined by measurable outcomes, but as a teacher, it’s not that simple.
“Ours is determined by indicators, and I see each of those students [and the ‘apple’ from them] as my indication that despite my faults, I have done something right and that who I am and how I am made a lasting impression,” Adams said.
Olivia Garrett was one of the students who presented a Golden Apple to Adams.
“Coach Adams demonstrated a profound commitment to my academic growth,” Garrett said. “He went above and beyond what he had to do. His help and guidance went beyond the classroom. Not only did he provide assistance during the school year, but he also generously offered his help with a government course I took over the summer through Auburn University. He was pivotal in helping me craft a speech for a leadership program I'm involved in, in hopes of receiving a scholarship.”
Photos courtesy of Iron City Studios.
Andrea Maddox receives Golden Apple Awards from 2024 seniors.
Patrick Garrett said that Adams has been a strong mentor to him since his sophomore year of high school, when Adams was his AP U.S. History teacher.
“In just two years, Coach Adams showed me what it means to be a strong leader, and a better man. He provided me with the opportunity to grow who I was in order to shape who I am today; he was there helping me each step along the way. For this, I am beyond grateful,” Garrett said.
Adams was also the recipient of another student award. Last year, the Chelsea Student Government Association established the Julie Yeager Award, which the entire senior class awards to one teacher who impacted the class as a whole. Yeager was a teacher at Chelsea Middle School who passed away in December 2020.
“I never knew Julie personally, but I know what she meant to students who had her, and I knew the honor an award with her namesake would bring,” Adams said. “I was truly touched to receive this year's award from this class.”
He said there is always an attachment when you see a reflection of yourself in the students you teach, and these outgoing seniors have left a legacy in him.
“I want to make them as proud as they make me,” he said. “All of our footsteps will be erased one day, with time. The meaning of these awards is that sometimes, I suppose, our footsteps will make a lasting imprint.”
Shannon Acton, who teaches Pre-AP chemistry and AP chemistry at Chelsea High, said that the school system is filled with many fantastic teachers, and she was surprised to receive eight Golden Apples this year, taking her total to 40 during her six years of teaching.
“After the initial shock, I felt pure joy. It made me feel like the luckiest teacher ever,” Acton said. “My students mean so much to me, and it is an incredible honor to be chosen for such a meaningful award. Teaching is a difficult job that constantly makes you think, ‘Am I doing enough for my students?’”
Acton said she loved hearing all the speeches during the ceremony to learn what students identified as impactful for them during high school. She said one of her main goals is to have students feel comfortable in her classroom environment so that they can successfully learn. That includes playing light music and welcoming interaction and communication throughout each lesson, she said.
“These interactions have helped me get to know my students better and learn about their future goals, which include science-related careers in nursing, surgery and engineering,” she said.
Photos courtesy of Iron City Studios.
Toni Motley with the seniors who selected her for the Golden Apple award.
Acton said that this senior class has helped shape her into the teacher she is today, and she is appreciative that she got to be their teacher.
“They are fun and goofy, but they are also passionate and hardworking,” Acton said. “I am so proud of this group of students and know they have some bright futures ahead of them.”
Several teachers received multiple Golden Apple awards, including:
- Shannon Acton (8) from Zoe Walker, Spencer Bausch, Carrie Foster, Mason Parker, Brody Wesson, Olivia Walker, Landon Jackson and Maddox Aycock
- Walter Ryan Adams (8) from Madeline Epperson, Patrick Garrett, Madison Burton, Claire King, Wyatt Coolidge, Zachary Townsend, Carter Abrams and Olivia Garrett
- Andrea Maddox (7) from Theresa Nguyen, Cassidy Reynolds, Isabella Robertson, Daisy Mitchell, Cameron Roberts and Vivian Barrett
- Kyla Kortright (5) from Noah Pontius, June Price, Kayley McEachin, Brook Tadeo-Orozco and Helen Jiminez
- Jennifer VanOekel (5) from Evan Dong, Anderson Brooks, Jordyn Eldridge, Alana McCulla and Blair Cornwell
- Perry Lawley (3) from Luke Wilson, Lauren McGhee and Elizabeth Moreland
- Toni Motley (3) from Jack Davis, Melah Vail and Maddox Michael
- Courtney Bessemer (2) from Jamie Holsombeck and Lauren Rawls
- Heath Butler (2) from Logan Sanders and Landon Keith
- Adam Oliver (2) from Emily Nabors and Krista Ordes
- Karen Pruitt (2) from Hallie Claire Haisten and Paige Bunyard
- Deana Rizzo (2) from Zander Horton and Marshall Puckett
- Emily Heisler (2) from Ann Thomas Crawford and Brock Marlow
- Adam Lawrence (2) Isabella Brouillette and Isabelle Seymour
Other teachers who received a Golden Apple included: Vickey Bailey (Zachary Davis), Kylee Berggren (Alyssa Latham), Vickie Birdsong (Anna Reed), Adria Bizjak (Elias Serrano), Twila Burdette (Kristen Willis), Sarah Cobb (Natalie Bugg), David Collins (Logan Moller), Jacob Cooley (Jillian Webster), Barbara Cunningham (Bay Brush), Stephanie Driscoll (Savannah Clayton), Farrah Fowler (Ellen McKinney), Shannon Galamore (Sarah Fayard), Sara Gallman (Nate Ngo), Stacy Garrett (Jasmin Perez Enriquez), Allison Gooch (Anna Nettuno), Monica Gordon (Hannah Dempsey), Lori Gossett (Lawrence Carbonie), Ray Haley (Carter Parrish), Amy Hann (Zachariah Edwards), Jason Harlow (Baylor McCluney), Robert Kirk (Melora Cargile), Heather Lee (Skyelar Hunt), Rebecca Newman (Mary Kendyl Dojonovic), Dylan Seabolt (Owen Key), Cindy Smith (Summer Swindle), Frankie Stroud (Hannah Bousman), Leigh Sullivan (Samantha Sutton), Katie Thompson (Sydney Smith), Ami Wicks (Isaiah Ziegert), Jesse Williams (Mara Paulk) and Kathleen Zackery
(Savannah Bailey).
