How many people do you know who are able to care for hundreds of children and
their family and still maintain sight of the end goal and their relationship with God? Well,
Mrs. Fernandez does just that as she teaches science to middle and high schoolers at Smith
Preparatory Academy. She has been teaching for 14 years, all over Florida, and has spent
her past 8 years here at Smith Prep. She is the best teacher for three main reasons: her love,
vision, and hard work.
She is full of love for God, her family, and her students. Each class she prays with us
before we begin and gives credit to God. She firmly believes in God as the creator of the
universe, and is a dedicated Christian who would not miss an opportunity to witness for her
savior and lord. She also dearly loves her husband and three children, and constantly mentions
them in class; if their sick, or when something funny happened at home. She takes care of her
family by teaching at Smith Prep, and loves them with all her heart. I haven’t been to her house
yet, but I can imagine it is a joyful home where she is able to comfort and care for her family.
She also loves her students. I have experienced firsthand the way she cares for each and every
one of us and helps us understand something that might be troubling us, even if it has nothing
to do with science. She truly is full and overflowing with love for God, her family, and her
students.
The second thing that makes her so amazing is her vision. She is not simply focused on
the present, she is making sure that we prepare for the future. Although she is pushing towards
jobs with science, she is helping us develop life skills that we might put into practice later in life.
She also realizes that this life is not everything. Eventually we will die and either go to heaven or
hell. Now, most of my classmates and I are, in fact, Christians. She reminds us to live our lives
for God and does the same thing herself. She wants us to realize the impact of God’s love and
be able to implement that in our everyday lives. She has an amazing and sincere, godly vision
that inspires her and her students to live for the days ahead and ultimately the final day.
Mrs. Fernandez is also an extremely hard worker. Although she doesn’t teach every
single day of the week, when she does teach it is with skill and preparation. She takes time and
effort to create interesting lesson plans and get us involved and interested in the material being
presented. Throughout the class, she is constantly helping those who don’t understand, drawing
pictures of what we are learning to help us out even though drawing is not her forte. Not only
does she take time to prepare for class, she also prepares and cares for her family. Even
though she is not at home all the time, she cares for them, doing all the duties of a mother and
teaching at the same time. I’m sure this takes a huge amount of energy, but she handles all the
overwhelming demands with patience and strength. She continues to work each and every day
to help her students and take care of her children, working overtime to care for everyone. I
admire her great strength and hardworking ethic, and she is the best teacher because of it.
Mrs. Fernandez is dear to the heart of all her students, and we love with so much. She is
set apart because of her love for God, her family, and her students. She continues to inspire
those around to live for the kingdom of God, and to set their priorities straight. She also works
unceasingly, making sure that not only is her family is cared for as of first importance, but she
also cares for her students with the same love and fervor. She is the best teacher ever, and is
fully worthy of any award that can be given.
Kurk Pyros
You can vote for Keri Fernandez here:
wow! i didn’t realize how much Mrs. Fernandez did for her school. Now i’m really going to vote for her. She is an amazing person