Becoming teacher of the year is no small feat, but Biology and Forensic Science teacher Sneha Patel has achieved it.

The teacher of the year is decided annually by a schoolwide faculty vote. Patel has been a teacher at WFHS for  six years and is  active within the science department. She is the sort of teacher that many students love, and she takes her role as an educator very seriously.

“You know you guys are super cool, and I feel like I can learn so much from you [the students],” Patel said. “Just to really have a classroom of equals where I feel like I can learn from my students and they can learn from me.”

She found inspiration for her teaching style from her own experiences in high school. Patel attended Cary High School when she was a student, and she remembers a lot of the teachers that left a strong impact on her life.

“I had great teachers in high school. They were patient. They showed me kindness, and I think they really shaped me into the person I am,” Patel said. “They made me want to pay forward the same kindness that they showed me.”

She knows that some students may not excel in the subjects that she teaches, but she stresses the importance of science. She hopes that her students will take away something from her lessons.

“I think the world around us causes us to think critically about everything, so I love being able to teach kids to think critically,” Patel said. “Even if they don’t necessarily love science, I want them to be able to think scientifically about the world as they leave my classroom.”

Patel really enjoys being a teacher. Although she didn’t want to be a teacher from the start of her career, she has always enjoyed being an educator. Patel found her love of teaching through hours of shadowing dentists during college. She enjoyed being able to educate people about their teeth, and that is when she decided that teaching would be a good option for her. Since becoming a teacher there has been so much to enjoy within her job.

“Honestly, I feel like I have so many great experiences every single day,” Patel said.

At least two out of the total eight years Patel has been teaching has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Patel, despite these hardships, has been able to pull through and still give students an impactful experience in their classes overall.

“I think the pandemic has changed school and the role school plays in our society so much from teaching two years ago to teaching now. It’s definitely affected us a lot.”