Anna Gilroy is relatively new to teaching, having been at Port Dickinson Elementary for just two years, but she already feels at home in the classroom.

"It's so much fun. I absolutely love coming to work. They make me laugh every day, they come in and they tell me stories and it's obviously different than learning about it, actually being here and doing it, but it's so much more meaningful," said Gilroy.

Having inspirations from her mother who was also in education, Gilroy knew she wanted to pursue a career in teaching.

Gilroy says, "I also had some just really influential teachers when I was growing up, people who showed me what a good teacher could be and people who guided me and led me and I wanted to be like them. "

Gilroy hopes to be an inspiration to her students in the same way.

One thing she prioritizes in the classroom is showing her students the power of self-confidence.

She says, "They can do what they set their mind to. I don't let them say that they can't, and I don't let them give up. If something is hard, it's okay, it's okay if it's a challenge. But I want them to know that they can try again and mistakes are okay. We constantly are saying mistakes help us learn and grow always."

The responsibility of teaching the next generation of students is a job she enjoys but doesn't take lightly.

"It means a lot that their parents are trusting me to teach them and guide them. And, you know, not only just teach them academic skills, but emotional skills, life skills. We're teaching them to be humans. And that's again, not something that I take lightly," said Gilroy.