How They Crushed It

Erica Richardson | Student to Award-Winning Teacher, Making an Impact, & The Importance of Patience

• Direct Mortgage Loans • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Erica Richardson, the 2024 Harford County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, shares her journey from being a student to becoming an award-winning teacher. She was inspired by her mother, who was an elementary school teacher, and her love for basketball led her to coaching as well. Erica emphasizes the importance of patience and allowing opportunities to come to you. She also talks about her role as the coordinator of the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program, where she helps students make decisions about their future careers. Erica Richardson, the 2024 Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year, shares her journey and the impact of winning the award. She discusses the nomination process, the application and interview stages, and the emotions she experienced throughout. Erica emphasizes the importance of patience, taking time to make decisions, and the support she received from her husband, family, and colleagues. She also highlights the significance of ambition, consistency, and remaining humble in achieving success. Erica's dedication to her students and her commitment to creating memorable experiences in the classroom are evident throughout the conversation.


Direct Mortgage Loans (00:

00.174) My dream came true. You're making an impact by making a memory. When you still have that passion, you just have to be patient. Teaching was a calling, but you let the world bring you the rest of it. Everything being in the right place at the right time, but being prepared. Luck is where opportunity meets hard work. If I win, we win. 2024, Hartford County Public School Teacher of the Year. I just can't believe this is happening to me. Tell us the best story ever. Welcome everybody to episode 9 of the How They Crushed It podcast. Sponsored by Direct Mortgage Lunds, the wonderful place where I work and spend all my time. Today's guest is 2024, Hartford County Public School Teacher of the Year, Erica Richardson from Joppa Town High School. Erica's got a tremendous story. She's definitely crushing it. She's impacting lives. She's doing a phenomenal job and she's got a bunch of life lessons that are gonna be applicable to anybody listening and watching today. So we're pumped to jump into it. Welcome everybody to episode nine of the How They Crushed It podcast sponsored by Direct Mortgage Loans, the wonderful place where I work and spend the majority of my time every week. We've got a tremendous guest today, somebody from a little different field and a little different background than we've had over our last couple of shows. My friend Erica Richardson, the 2024, wait for it everybody, Harford County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, you're still processing that. Still processing, yes. Still processing, but. Clearly, Erica is crushing it to be voted to receive this wonderful award. It is right now Teacher Appreciation Week. Absolutely. So congratulations. Thank you. Appreciate that. And thanks for making the time to be in here. So glad. But, you know, Erica, as a teacher, she's the first teacher we've interviewed, so we're gonna kinda have a little bit, probably some different kinds of questions and different kinds of fun. You know what we lead off with most weeks. Yes. And you were wondering what questions I had, and I've got them hidden back here. But... A little rapid fire, Google gave us some answers here that Erica doesn't know the questions to, but Google gave us these answers. So what does Google say is the best teacher appreciation gift that any teacher can receive? Wow, that's tough. A candle. A bobblehead. Custom bobblehead. Has anybody ever given you one? No. A Miss Richardson custom bobblehead? No? No. Okay, Tiff?

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16.014) Carla off -camera, we might need to make that happen here one of these days. Look, I caught her with that one. Oh my goodness. I've got another good one. What rock and roll figures were originally teachers at some point earlier in their career? There's two that are kind of make a little sense and there's one that's really off the wall. Rock and roll. Elvis is rock and roll. Elvis was not a teacher. Okay. What's his name? Little Richard. He didn't show up either. I'll tell you, Sting from the police was a teacher. Sheryl Crow was a teacher. Are you ready for this one? I can see that. Gene Simmons from Kiss was a school teacher, everybody. Look it up. Google it yourself. I got the answer right here. Google wouldn't lie to me. But I did not click on it and read further along. I want you to check on that one later. I will sure check that. Yes. So I'm sure your kids appreciate Miss Richardson more than they might appreciate. Actually, maybe they would appreciate Gene showing up and make up one day. He'd make an impression. So, I like to jump right in. Talk to me about, you know, little Erica growing up. Clearly there's a story between you as a kid to you now getting this wonderful award and, you know, the things that went into getting this award. Talk to me about how you got into what you're doing. Absolutely. So, I am originally from the Bronx, New York. Oh, cool. I lived there for 30 years and then moved here to Maryland. You do not have a New York accent, by the way. I don't. It is gone. It is gone. I've... worked on that, so it's gone, definitely. Well, you did. Thank you. So when I was younger, though, my mother was a school teacher. She was an elementary school teacher. In New York? In New York for 34 years. And so watching her just go through the different things with students as far as the impact that she had on them. And they were younger, so I was always interested. What did she teach? It was elementary school, so it was all great, all levels, I would say, from kindergarten through fifth grade. So that was just the primary teacher. Then at the end of her career, she taught math and science. And that was more just her passion. And she said, you know, I'm retiring soon, but I'd like to focus on one specific subject, which got me thinking, you know what? That's kind of what I want to do.

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21.197) I didn't want to be an elementary school teacher. I wanted to be, this was probably, I'm gonna say about 12th. Because also she used to get a lot of great gifts, so at Christmas time, so that was pretty cool. No bobbleheads. No bobbleheads, not a single bobblehead. That's why I didn't get the question right. But then she just always talked about how much fun it was to be a teacher and how the kids appreciated the things that she would do for them. But she just always loved her kids. And she had her own, of course, but just still loved her kids at school. And so when I got to high school, I said, okay, maybe, and then I started thinking about being a lawyer, and I said, I really am interested in law, and I said, okay, well, I gotta make a decision. Now I'm going to college. You negotiate as a lawyer and you negotiate as a teacher, I'm sure. How about that, how about that? So the twist is coming. So then I go into college, and then of course, you know, study education, and I said, okay, this is it. Now I have to make a decision. Is it gonna be elementary, middle, or high school? And I said, I really wanna be around students that are about to... I guess you say embark on life, just basically take that next step and become an adult. I feel like I'd be most effective with those students. Well, today. By the way, clearly you are. You're Christian at now. Thank you, I appreciate that. And the great thing about that is I also now get to teach law. So I teach criminal justice. Oh, that's wild. I didn't see the twist. Yes, right, so it comes back. When you still have that passion, you just have to be patient. And I think about that all the time. Like I really wanted to be a lawyer, but at the same time, like I said, education was what was calling me. And so then when the opportunity to teach criminal justice came about, I realized like, oh, I'm about to have both. I'm about to be a teacher, but I'm also gonna teach law. And I've been teaching law for over 10 years now. And it's great. I mean, I teach other subjects. I teach social studies actually, but law is really where my heart is. And so I get to, like my dream came true. Just in the form. You said the word love, you said the word heart. Your mom loved what she did? Loved what she did. If she could have taught for 50 more years, she would have. She never wanted to be an administrator. She just wanted to stay. strictly with the young people. And I thought about it, I said, what about elementary school? And I said, no, I just, there was a calling, I had a calling to be with high school students. That's the best way I can describe it. Because when I talk to people that teach middle school, they say the same thing. They belong in middle school. If you speak to a teacher, they will tell you where they belong. I belong in high school. And it's been 24 years, so.

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37.902) I think you made the right choice. Let me tell you why. I mean, some of my other guests don't have a calling. I wrote that down because not all of us are fortunate enough. Some of the people that are really crushing it and doing well, they kind of backed into it. That's right. Or they stumbled upon it. That's why. That's a second career. Right. I tell my kids all the time, you don't know where that opportunity is going to come from. You got to just let the world. You don't. I wish I had a calling, by the way. I like I love what's great. I love what I do with it. But in fairness, I never felt. So I called to it and I love that. So you're 12th grade or you're late part of high school and you feel this is really what you had to do? Yeah, so I along the way I fell in love with basketball. My high school phys ed teacher said, hey, you want to play basketball? And I said, absolutely not. I don't know anything about it. I'm terrible at it. Of course, as all 14 year old girls say when they join a new sport. And so then I decided to play basketball. I played for four years and then I had a friend who came back. to visit Alumni Day to talk to us about the college that she attended. And it was St. Thomas Aquinas College. And I said, you know what, maybe, okay, let's take a look how far away. My mom's a single parent, so I really just wanted to be close to home. I had a younger brother and sister. I went to visit the school 45 minutes away. Beautiful school, small, like my high school. I went to an all girls Catholic high school. In the Bronx. In the Bronx, St. Raymond's Academy for Girls. And so I wanted that same small classroom size. Get to college. Of course, I was not recruited to play basketball. So my friend said, you know what, you can still try out. I said, they have tryouts in college? Again, just being really new to the sport. And she says, yes, you can be a walk -on. And so season came up. I played. I tried out. I made the team. I played for four years. But it was all those things. Like I talked to you about a calling. That, I was supposed to play basketball in high school. I didn't know that though. So then I got the college. Well, you just proved my point and your own. Teaching was a calling, but you let the world bring you the rest of it. So many things have come to me that way. Basketball came to me that way. I was a resident assistant in college. That came to me from another friend who was doing it and said, hey, you need to apply to be a resident assistant. Then it was time to graduate. Social studies teachers love to just stay in the classroom. And so there weren't any jobs available. My mother's suggestion was get your master's degree right away. If you can, do it right away. And I said, I'm going to have to because I can't find a job. And so a friend of mine, a different friend, came to me and said, hey,

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01.422) there's something called a graduate assistantship, why don't you do it? Interviewed, applied, got it, and got my masters the day after I graduated from college. Letting the world come to you. It literally came to me. Like this is the next part of that story. In my grad class, there are only five of us in this class, very, very small class. The professor was an adjunct professor. He was a principal of a high school. One day he comes in and says, hey everyone, guess what? We're gonna be adding a grade to our school because at that point they were 10 through 12. He said, we're gonna be adding grades, so we're gonna be bringing on a ninth grade. And I said, hmm, you know, I don't have a job. So this is right up my alley, right. And so he says - Hold on, you're already graduated from college, you're a grad student? I'm a grad student, yeah, I'm a grad student. So the day after graduation, I was in grad school. The very next day I was in grad school. And so he said, how many of you aren't working full time? And there were three of us. And I raised my hand and he said, no, this is me dating myself. He said, if you can fax me your resume tomorrow. Fax it everybody. If you can fax me your resume tomorrow, I can get you an interview. I faxed him the next day, faxed the resume, went to the interview, and got my first teaching job. That's awesome. And that literally is just being in the right place at the right time, but being prepared. Because had he said, you know, send me your resume and I had it. Luck is where opportunity meets hard work. So you're allowing the opportunity to come to you while working hard. Absolutely, absolutely. So then, so I'm in grad school, like I said, my grad school was just one year, I did it full time. And then he said, hey, didn't you play high school basketball and college basketball here? And I said, I did. He says, well, we're gonna have JV teams. Like, would you like to coach? And I'm like, I had not thought about coaching at all. And I said, well, and I'm thinking like, how many opportunities would you get in this in your life, right? So I said, sure, sure, why not? I said, he says, okay, let's have a meeting. No good deed goes unpunished. That's right. Never turn it down. I said, okay, I'll do the interview. I'll be terrible. They won't hire me. This is literally what I thought. I walk into the interview, it was at a senior all -star game. I walk up to the person, it's an older gentleman, and he stands up and he says, hi, I'm Willie Worsley. I said, Mr. Worsley? And he says, Erica? His daughter was my coach in college. And I've seen him in the stands how many times, right? He's come to so many games. You're giving me goosebumps. It gets better. So I hug him, we sit down, he says, I thought your name looked familiar. And he said, all right, well, let's just watch this game.

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28.942) So we sit down, we watch the entire game. We're talking about basketball, just shooting the breeze, talking about basketball. Next thing you know, the game's over, and he says, I say, okay, and I'm again, dressed up in heels and dress, and I say, okay, you wanna go do the interview now? He says, we just did. So good. I'm like, oh, now you're thinking, what did I say? Did I say the right things? Do I know? Left hand, right hand, what did I say? I'm thinking that was an hour and a half of basketball, and so then I leave. Two days later, he calls me back. Willie Worsley was one of the, he was the point guard for the first all African American NCAA team. That's crazy. He was the point guard for that team. That is crazy. And I learned that later on. He never told me that. I learned that later on when the movie came out, Glory Road, and he left for a few days. He worked at the school. He left for a few days. He came back and said, I was with Pat Riley. What are you doing with Pat Riley? What do you mean? He's like, yeah, I was hanging out with Pat Riley in Hollywood. No, you weren't. Then he shows me the Wheaties box with him on it. And then he shows me the book, because it was a book as well. And he was in that, that was his life. So that was the person I learned how to really coach from. He was my first coach because he was the varsity coach and I was the JV coach for eight years. And you're still coaching now, years later. I'm the head varsity coach now at Joppa Town High School. as well as track. As track and I also do stats for football on Friday nights. That's so good. I told you off camera, my wife who she's watching went to Jopptown High School long before you could have entered the scene. Not that long. I shouldn't have told you. I shouldn't say that. Right, not that long. Don't say that. It is that long, unfortunately. So talk to me. So, okay, so you get into it. So how do you end up from New York to Maryland? It was just a relationship and I was like, you know what, this is, you know, running up and down the turnpike is really... killing us, like what are we gonna do? And I said, I've been in New York all my life, I love New York, I'm always gonna love New York. I said, but this is not very far where I can still get back to my parents. My entire family lives in New York, except for my sister, she lives here in Maryland. Time out, are you a Yankees fan? I am, sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't gonna mention it at all because that's the one. Let's go back to the important stuff. I'm sorry, that was important for me to know. No, but that is important, yes, it is, so I am a true.

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41.518) True Blue New York fan, like all the teams, Giants, the Knicks, and then the Yankees. And just, you know, parents watching that. Despite that. I really am enjoying this. Despite that. Thank you. Sorry. And so, you know, just going, you know, just coaching and doing the things that I did in New York, and I wanted to do those same things in Maryland. This is what I needed. I needed to slow down a bit. The pace was better for me at the time. the space, you know, because again, I love New York, but it's crowded. Did you go directly to the job you're in now? Actually, what's funny is I actually taught for a year doing a long -term sub position. So I went from Montgomery County to Baltimore County, which was good for me because as a, you know, as a native New Yorker, you move into a new place, you kind of want to get your feet wet and learn. So I did six months and then another six months. And then I went to a rodeo in April of 09. and Hartford County. Again, time out. You went to a rodeo? We call it a rodeo. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm thinking you're a teacher. I'm sorry. There is something called a rodeo. The rodeo is basically when - Yeah, I'm thinking cowboys and horses. That's not the type of rodeo? Definitely not. Nope, that's not it. Okay. So the rodeo is basically when it's a job fair, I would say, where you're able to have conversations and interviews with specific schools that need that. So like, I was a social studies teacher, so I wanted to go to a school that had a social studies opening. And so I met with three different schools, actually five schools, but three schools actually had an opening right away. Joppa Town was one. I liked the vibe and I just actually said that I had a speaking engagement last week and I told the young people, I said, you know, the vibe was important for me. They were interviewing me, this is true, but in the sense I was interviewing them. It's funny you say that, like my kids, my youngest kid is a freshman in college, my oldest is out of college. I've always used the word vibe with them. Yes. When you go on campuses, vibe is important. You don't have to articulate it to me. That's right. But you know what you feel when you feel it. Exactly. And I felt great with all three of those interviews. Joppa Town's interview stood out to me because the three people that interviewed me had all been at Joppa Town over 15 years. And one of them was an alumni. So I said, this has got to be the best place ever. Probably closer to my wife's age. Okay, it could be. And so I just walked away feeling great.

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55.31) I got home and I said, I hope one of those three schools call me because I really had a good interview and a good feeling, a good vibe. And so it was Friday, on Sunday I got a call and it was for Joppa Town High School and I guess the rest is history. How many years ago is that now? It was 15 years ago. 15 years. I cannot believe that. 15 years ago. It does not feel like that. I don't feel like I've been there 15 years until I see a student who's 30 and says, you had my, you know, I taught, you know, you were my teacher and blah, I'm like, oh, well, 15 years ago. It is 15 years ago. Time flies when you do. That's when I feel it. Right, that's when I feel it. But that's really how that transition happened. So I have a question. So like now, I mean, clearly you're making an impact. You won this award. What do you know now that you didn't know back then? Oh, man. What are the big things that you would go back that you would tell a young teacher or tell the younger Erica? Yeah, younger Erica, I was very ambitious. I'm still ambitious. Don't get me wrong. But I wanted everything to happen right away. I need to have patience. And I didn't know that when I was young. When I was young, I felt like, for example, I wanted to be an academy leader. No, excuse me, a dean. I wanted to be the dean of discipline at the school, my first school in New York. I was there for, like I said, eight years. And I applied for the job. Now, I'd only been at the school three years, maybe. I applied for the job, didn't get it. Was very upset. I had a veteran teacher talk to me and said, you know, maybe you just haven't been here long enough. You ever think of that? You've only been here three years. Maybe you just need some time to see. Maybe things are coming, you just gotta be patient. This first time, and my mom said the same thing, but coming from a veteran teacher in my building, you just had a little bit more weight. You didn't know how to let the world completely come to you. That's right, I did not. I was very impatient. Again, I was a New Yorker. I'm a New Yorker, so we're kind of impatient. So two years later, they went to academies and I said, oh, okay, it's five years in. I should be good now. I'm going for it. I went for it and I got it. but I felt like that person saying it to me at that time helped my self -esteem. It helped me to understand. It did help. It didn't set you back a little bit in your own head? No, I was upset, but that person saying it that way was something I didn't even think about. I guess because I was just so into teaching and just wanted to do so much and help everyone, I didn't think about the fact that, Erica, you've only been here three years. You don't know anything. More opportunities always come. Right, and so that two years later, that Academy Leader position came, and I was able to get that, and that just...

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19.662) Again, 250 students, it was the Arts and Humanities Academy, so we got to go on field trips, I got to talk to them about their grades and what they could do to help them, and this was with a team of teachers. So that was my first, I guess you could say, leadership position, and that was five years in. But again, not in a point of, I was not an administrator, there was no hiring, or firing, observing, it was primarily to help students. So I said, okay, this is exactly what I wanna do. I wanna be a teacher, but I wanna have a different role. additional role where I can help a large group of students. Every single role that I have right now does exactly that. So for example, I'm the coordinator of our Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program. That's another hundred plus students that I then will help. make decisions about life. How many students in Joppa Town these days? Right now we're a little over 900. Okay. And that's because we've grown, because we've added two specialized programs. So 100 out of 900, it's a big percentage. And it's great because these students don't necessarily have to go into the field of Homeland Security, but they will be first responders. They'll be, you know, lawyers. They'll be judges. They'll be law enforcement, fire, military. Or they'll go into the science field, because we do have that science branch. We also have the GIS branch, which is geographic information systems, and those students will be able to help with evacuation routes and plotting and planning. When there's any kind of natural disaster or man -made disaster, our young people know how to plan and plot evacuation routes to help get people to safety, and they're in high school. It's great. So, and again, helping students, but not necessarily in an administrative role, but being able to help an additional group of students. One of the things I just wrote down, which we've heard other people say is, you know, and it's a little, you're saying it a little different with the let the world come to you, but. opportunities come to those that allow the opportunity. Being patient means this opportunity might not be the right one, the next one might be the right one. That's right, you have to. You have to. And I've learned that, when I learned that in year five, and then now, you know, in year 24, I'm still learning that. Even that Homeland Security position, a friend of mine had it and was stepping down and said, I think you'd be great for this. You should try it. And that's how I started teaching criminal justice. And then two years later...

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27.342) they had an opening for the coordinator and I applied for that. So that's been over 10 years. You hear that everybody, if you miss one, there is going to be other ones. There always are. Everybody I've interviewed has said a version of that. That's right, just wait. That's great. This is great stuff. So you never, did you ever, I got a weird one. Did you ever think about this award you got where you caught off guard? I haven't asked you the story. Completely off guard. How does it go? It's the best story ever to be honest. I mean, obviously I'm biased, but it's the best story ever. Well, tell us the best story ever. So I'm at work one day and a friend of mine says, oh my goodness, you've been nominated for Teacher of the Year. And I said, what are you talking about? Says you've been nominated for Teacher of the Year. I said, wait a minute. When I say - Who does nominations? I don't even know. Teachers can do it, students of course can have input, but it's usually a teacher, and then it goes to the principal, and then the principal can do it, or it can be your content supervisor. So it doesn't matter, it's like I'm social studies, so my supervisor can do it. So anyone can nominate, but then the official nomination comes from somebody at the senior level. So this is still a nomination, somebody says you've been nominated. I've been nominated, so 55 candidates, and I'm like, okay, one from each school, and I said, okay. So you got a 2 % chance to win. And I'm stressed. And I'm like, what does this even mean? Like, what is happening? Again, I am the person behind the scenes. I take care of whatever. I'm behind the scenes. So this is now bringing me to the front. To the spotlight. Well, hold on, by the way, this podcast, there's gonna be a lot of people that see it, so you're not behind the scenes today, my friend. No more, no more, right. And so from the 55, the next level is top five. But you have to do the application and things like that, and there's an interview. You do. I have to do that part. Okay. So I said, okay, well, you know what? I thought about it. I told my husband first and he said, well, are you going to do it? And I said, I don't know. And he said, what do you mean? I said, you know, I just, I just want to take care of my kids. Like I just want to help my kids. I went out to my school, my community. He says, you don't think that this, that's what this is? You could just do it on a larger scale. And I'm like,

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27.502) I don't know. I agree with your husband. I agree with your husband, by the way. Yeah. And so did my mom and so did several people. Erica, you have to do this. And I said, okay, so I took three days on purpose. Anything I've ever been asked to do, I need 24 hours. Patience. 24 hours. Patience. Because am I going to be able to do a good job with this? And I'm not kidding. That is exactly what I live. I live my life that way. And so I took three days and here comes the deadline. It's coming. And then I apply. And I just wait, and you do, you just wait, you just wait, you just wait. So one day my kids are asking me, like, so Ms. Richardson, when do you find out, when do you know what's going on? And I'm like, I'm just waiting. I said, I'm sure they're reading our applications now, and we'll see how to give them a hundred word bio, and then fill out some questions. There were three essays I had to write, and submit them. So I'm just waiting patiently, not patiently, but waiting. I was asked to organize our Black History Month assembly. I'm on stage. preparing to start the show. Like we have singers, we have sororities and fraternities. You've planned the whole event. I have planned the whole event. Okay. I'm on stage with my co -host and I see five of my basketball girls. Now we have the assembly at two parts because we're too large to fit in an auditorium. So I see all of them. I'm like, there's no way these five girls have the same period, like in the same section of the building. What is going on? But again, I'm getting ready to start the assembly. So I can't entertain that right now, but I look at them and I'm like, Okay, well I'll get to that later. And I just go. And my principal says, can I say something real quick? And I'm like, absolutely, sure, come on up. She comes in, she comes over, and she says, do me a favor, why don't you go ahead and stand on the stage for me? And I'm like, okay, again. Hasn't clicked yet. I'm in go mode for this assembly. I go to the center of the stage, my co -host goes to center of the stage, and three other friends go to the center of the stage. And the five basketball girls come up to the stage, and they say, turn around if you're in sorority or fraternity. So my three friends turn around. Then they say, turn around if you've hosted our first ever HBCU College Fair. And that's what my co -host, my friend, she turned around. Turn around if you're top five teacher of the year. Oh my, I screamed, I cried. It's 400 kids watching, by the way. 400 students watching. I cry, I scream. I'm stunned. I cannot talk. I get flowers. It is the whole thing. And it's on Facebook. Anybody can watch it. It's there. Hold on, everybody. It's out there.

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49.902) Tiffany, make sure we tag that so that everybody can watch it when they see this podcast, please. It is, it is unbelievable. And so then I'm now shaking as I go to do this assembly. So I do the assembly, it's fine. I have to go and get a headshot. I'm not a celebrity, that's crazy. So I go get a headshot and then they are coming to have an interview and then I are coming to visit and watch me teach. And so they do like this promo video, I guess you could say, where all five of us. I find out that a good friend of mine, she also made top five and she's teaching at a different high school. And then I meet the other ladies that were the five finalists and we worked together for a year. So even though one person wins, the five of us will work together. We're called the visionary voices. We made that name up. And that basically - You made that name up. We made that name up as a group. We come up with your own name. Last year was a summit squad. This year with the visionary voices. And we just want to hear what all of our young people and our - Educators have to say and so we plan on doing that for a year We don't know what capacity yet But we do we are so interested in what people have to say and what our young people want to say What do you want us to know? What are you trying to tell us? And so that's the focus of the visionary voices and then April 9th we have a huge ceremony and The superintendent gets on the stage and there's a drum roll and he says my name and I scream and cry again Like literally that's how it happened So phenomenal. So phenomenal. Crazy. You are crushing it. You can't deny it. You're here with us. We're pumped to have you. Look, I've got some great notes here. And look, you know that you've seen some of our other shows. It's different people in different industries. But some of these things are, I mean, they're just truisms across any, for humanity, more so than just for business or for your profession. You are a professional. You know, you have to love what you do. listen to your calling. The big one I put a star next to is let the world come to you. Patience, even though something tells me you're not the most patient person. No, at times. I'm not either. I recognize, believe me, but it's important to let it slow down sometimes. Look, you said, and I put this one in quotes, you have to ask yourself everybody sometimes, can I do a good job? Yes. And any of the students watching, listen to these things because they apply.

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03.054) everywhere, whether you're in one of these programs, no matter if you go into a different program. If you're working in our business for our company, all of this applies. Thanks. It's good to hear. And I'm at a point where, you know, I have six years to retirement and not that I'm thinking about it, but I know, I'm aware. But I do have plans, I have goals, you know, and so when I have conversations with my students, I'm very, first of all, I'm very honest with them. They know everything about me and I do that on purpose. You didn't say the word, but one of the words is transparency. You have to be. You have to be. With high school students, they want to know that their teacher is a human being, first of all. And so they know, like I got married three years ago, they know that. Like they know my anniversary just passed. They know all these things. And so I say to them, understand that this is great. And I am so, so grateful for this. I said, and understand though, I have a goal now. Like I have a goal that I think I need to revisit. My goal is to be a high school principal. And so I put it... you know, to the back burner, put it in the back burner, put it to the side, because I really just am happy where I am. I love my school and I don't necessarily want to leave, but I know that there's a good chance, you know, the next step is assistant principal and they'll, you know, place you wherever there's a need. So there's a good chance I won't be at my school, you know? And so that process of like, wow, I could be leaving Joppa, like Joppa town, this has been my home for 15 years. Like how can I do that? But it's a goal and my students know that's my goal. Does that make sense? So they... I do. One thing I've, let me ask you, actually let me take a time out on goals because I could talk about goals for hours. Absolutely. But one thing I've learned about goals and I've talked to people about goals, again, my kids are only a little older than the kids you're teaching now. You need to have goals because goals can also be changed everybody. That's right. Her goal today doesn't have to be her goal when she wakes up tomorrow. But having it today is, talk about that because I feel like... my goal today is important today, but I'm allowed to change my mind and have a new goal tomorrow and throw that one away. That's absolutely right. And I think young people, if any of your young people in any field are listening to this, it's important to remind themselves of that. Yes, it's okay. It's okay to have a different goal. It's okay for you to say, you know, I really had my mindset, like I said, I had my mindset on being a lawyer for several years. And then I said, no, I love history. I'm gonna be a history teacher.

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21.294) and then here comes the law class. It just came to me. So the two worlds, the two things that I loved came to me. And it just, again, patience, but also making sure you stick to that goal of this is what you wanna do. The other part of that is to the next step for me, like I know that you wanna say one of the things is the next step. The next step is you can, when you apply for Teacher of the Year, there's a question that says, if you win, will you continue to go on for the next level? Would you like to go to the next level? So, I'm currently doing my application, completing my application for Maryland Teacher of the Year. Oh my goodness gracious. And what's the, right now we're May, when does, what's the, give me the quick version of what the time is. So the quick version is basically application process right now, then I'm sure it will be interview process, I believe they come and visit, and then by October. So it's next school year. They'll make a decision. So it'll be the 20. 2025 Maryland Teacher of the Year. And that field is 24, I believe. There are 24 of us. It's like basically every county's winner and Baltimore City. Well, look, you got a shot. I can say that having met you today, you got a shot. It would be unbelievable. Like I can't even, I can't, but I couldn't wrap my mind around this, honestly. I just, I know what I do. I'm confident in what I do, but I feel like there's so many amazing people and amazing teachers. in my building alone. Like there are some amazing teachers that really have the passion and the drive and the motivation and that's what I feed off of. Does that make sense? It's funny what you just said because I had a question coming that I've asked some of the others. So goals we talked about. But talk about ambition. I mean I want you to talk about it for anybody listening and if any of the kids that you taught are listening because I talked to my kids about this. You know... Goals and being ambitious, I find that these days some young people think that being ambitious is a little bit of a bad thing. I find it to be, as long as you do it honorably and you're not stepping on someone to get somewhere, that I think ambition and goals are a great thing. That's right. I have a phrase and I'm gonna, sorry I'm gonna mess this up, but there's a phrase and it says, you don't have to dim someone's light to shine.

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31.534) for your light to shine. And I can't remember the exact words, but it's a quote that I read on someone's page, Facebook page, and I said, that is exactly what I need to say. You don't have to dim someone else's light in order for yours to shine. Yes, and that's so true. Hopefully in my career, I've never made someone feel like they were less important. That's what I'm gonna say. And I try not to. You're going to the teacher of the year, it doesn't mean somebody else isn't great. Exactly, exactly. And even for our finalists, any one of us could have won this award. I'm not kidding. These ladies are phenomenal teachers. And so I think about that, I'm like, any one of them, the support is there. The day I won, they all sent me emails or text messages. We're in a group chat. And so text messages, like, we're so happy, we can't wait to work with you. Let us know what we can do. And just so supportive. Mind you, I just met them like a month ago. Besides the one friend. The other three ladies I just met a month ago, but I knew that when I met them, I'm like, I see, I see that we can create some great things. And so that ambition sometimes again, with this light, you don't have to step on people. You don't have to make others feel small in order for you to feel as if you're accomplishing things or feel great about yourself. What's wrong with having good self -esteem, but as a teenager, forget it. Like Erica as a teenager did not have great self -esteem. Erica as a teenager had many, many struggles. Erica got to college and then realized, okay, this independent thing, I like this. I like that I can kind of walk my own path. Because when you're in high school, you want to be in the in crowd. And so when you get to college, I'm paying money for this. Okay. I don't have time to be in the in crowd. I need to do what I need to do and be successful at this. And so I found that that independence kind of came to me, but it also came with a little bit of confidence, just a little bit. And then as I got older, the confidence grew, but at the same time, remaining humble, that's the thing. You have to be, I cannot tell you how important that is. People at my school will do some pretty crazy things for me. For example, we all dressed up as Ninja Turtles, literally. That was scary. You didn't bring a picture with you? I did not bring a picture, but I will make sure that Carla has it so that she can send it and you can see it. It's gonna be as part of the...

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43.374) Advertisements for this. Absolutely see that. The entire team dressed up. We all were, I think I was Donatello. It was Spirit Week and we had Twin Day and our theme was Ninja Turtles. And even somebody was like the sewer, the pizza, like every, the whole thing and taught the whole day like that. The kids loved it. You have to be confident to do that. You have to, right. And so the kids loved it though. And I said to myself, why are we going to be so serious that we can't have a little bit of fun? We taught the whole day. The kids had a great day. They were so surprised to see us walk in. Can you imagine? High school teacher walking in as a ninja turtle? No. You're creating an impact by making a memory. That's right. That's right. And that's what high school is about. Some of my fondest memories of high school and college were the teachers that went above and beyond, that dressed up, that took us on field trips, that did something that I can remember. I had a French teacher in college, a French professor. He stood up on the desk. The first day of class, he stood up on the desk. Bonjour! At the top of his lungs. And I'm looking like, is this guy for real? And how many years? That's a lot of years ago. A long time ago. And you still remember. I'm about to. This is my 30th year out of high school. So yeah, this is a while ago. I'm telling you, I remember that like it happened yesterday. That's so great. So what can you do to be remembered? And I remember him because of that, Dr. Latour. So you win Teacher of the Year. Mm -hmm. And you wake up the next morning. Mm. And you still got to go. Let me guess. You still got to go to school. Mm -hmm. And... You still got to teach and you still got the same group of kids, you know, some of which have different challenges than others. That's right. And I, there's got to be a lesson in that. Which is, the world doesn't stop for these things. No, it doesn't. The next one of the prizes that we received, I received a car. So I have a car for a year. Hold on, you got a car? For a year, yes. And it says, Hartford County Public School Teacher of the Year. So that's... Is that car parked outside right now? It is outside right now. Hold on, Tiff, we're getting a photo with that when we're done. Yes, it's outside right now. And so that, you know, waking up the next morning, I actually had a meeting the next day. So it was crazy. So I had a meeting the next day. And so I didn't get to go to school. And I warned my principal because, you know, they came to support that night, you know, that evening. And so I said, hey, just as a heads up, I'm not coming in tomorrow. So this is a great party. Just hold the party off one day because I have a meeting tomorrow. Like literally, like you said, life continues.

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57.71) So I had a department chair meeting, because I'm a department chair. So the department chair meeting the next day. The next day, Thursday, is when I went to school. And when I walked in, there's a picture on the front of the Baltimore Sun, the Aegis, I should say, of me walking in to congrats on the wall. And I feel like it was the entire faculty, students cheering, yelling, balloons, things just every, my husband is there. They called him, got him the cup to come. And I just - That is crushing it. That is me just crying. Like, I could not stop crying. I said, first of all, this is for me? Like, the process, this, this is for me. Parking, I have a special parking spot. And I'm thinking like, all of this, I go to my classroom, more celebration. But the kids still need you though. They do. And so I try to make sure that they see me winning. But what I told them when I was in the process of this, when the process of this award, I said, I'm winning and I'm gonna try to win this. It's not just about me. Understand, if I win, we win. You gotta understand that. I said, because what that means is now people are gonna be looking at Joppa Town High School. What's happening at Joppa Town High School? What good things are happening at Joppa Town High School? And so, when I win, we win. Does that make sense? And the kid said, oh, okay, yeah. So then, when I came in the next day, and they saw the cameras there, and they're like, oh my, oh wow, they're here at Joppa. I told you, if I win, we win. I told you that. Tribute, the band comes to my room to play. Outcast song for me, I'm dancing. The Baltimore Sun or the Aegis, they send me, you know, please answer these questions. And Weiss getting groceries, I look down. I said, honey, that's me. and I grab the newspaper and I put it on the counter and he looks, did you know? I'm like, I answered some questions. He's like, grab them all. So we grabbed 10 copies. But like, what life is that? What kind of feeling? Every teacher should get that. The emails, the text messages, the calls. I've gotten so many random cards in the mail from people just in the community.

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11.246) I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy for you. You're special. It's just, to tears, to tears. You deserve it. To tears, just letting me know how proud they are. I just can't believe this is happening to me. So good. But you gotta keep going though, right? I do. I signed up to go, so I guess we're gonna keep going. I mean, again, I don't expect to win. Well, you know what's funny? One of the words we haven't said today that's come up in most of the other podcasts is the word consistency. That people... All the most successful people all the people that we've interviewed been fortunate enough to have in here who are crushing it They're consistent and I can already see that with you the next that's why I asked the question about the next day because you still have to teach you still have to teach you still have to teach. That's right. That's right. They're still the same group of kids that have all these needs that need to be fulfilled and met and you don't you can't let the guard down, right? The smiles like the smiles of the kids like I I haven't seen them happy like that in a while and I'm like guys like Yes, we did it. Like I said, like we did it. And so they, you know, for them, now they're watching this process. I told you I'm very transparent with my kids. And so I said, look, there are some things happening. So I'm going to miss some days. I'm teacher of the year, but I'm missing some days teaching. So, but I honestly, I've been to, I recorded a speech for an upcoming event that I can't make because I have an obligation at school. I'm going to be at my capstone night for my homeland, homeland students. I've been to Magnolia middle school. to speak at their honor roll. I spoke to all of the leaders of Hartford County Public Schools on Friday. I presented to them on Friday. I'm here with you today. I feel, by the way, we appreciate you very much. Thank you. I'm going to Edgewood High School to speak to the First Ladies of Edgewood. That's a girls group that they have after school. I am going to be throwing out the first pitch at the Ironbirds game next Friday. That's so great. I have never thrown a baseball in my life. Practice. Just like you teach your kids, practice. A friend of mine is a baseball coach. He came into my room this morning. He's like, are you ready? And I'm like, no, coach, I am not. What do I do? You'll be ready. You'll be ready. He's like showing me how to hold the ball and all the things. So next Friday, I'll be doing that. And then, you know, because actually this Friday, because Teacher Appreciation Week, sorry, this Friday. I'm looking down on my notes because as we get to the end here, you know, the whole idea of let the world come to you.

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35.502) and that you don't have to dim someone else's light in order for yours to shine. I mean, I want anybody listening to take that, because you can and you should take that anywhere you go. In any industry, in any profession, in any job, at any age. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I agree. If any of your students are watching, I'm going to let you... How will you end? What do you want to say to them to end? To end? I love you. You know that. I am proud of everything that you've done. I can't wait to see what you're going to do. And I hope that you are watching this right now and thinking, that's my teacher. And I can't wait to talk to her about this more because I wanna talk about it. I'm excited about it. And I am so happy that I get to share this with you because you're my babies and I'm just excited for us. Like, just know that this is good. This is big. This is big. And sitting here with her, I can tell you guys she's, she means every word of it. It's genuine, it's authentic, it's transparent, it's honest. You are crushing it, my friend. Thank you. Thank you for making the time. Thank you. We're pumped to have you. This is great. Check it out, everybody. Erica Richardson, 2024, Hartford County Public School Teacher of the Year, crushing it. And we're so glad to have her. And we'll see you guys all next time.

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