BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — The leaves might be changing outside, but inside Westwood High School one thing stays the same. For the past 26 years, Mrs. Paige Brown has been there for her students.
"This group of kids is really just where my love is," Brown said. "Just to be able to come to work, and work with this group of kids and work with this group of people, it's fulfilling."
Even more fulfilling is the impact she's made on her students and their parents, like Jaylen's mom Marissa Evans.
"She's different, like an angel," Evans said. "Mrs. Brown made me feel so comfortable. You can tell she loves them. Like if Jaylen is not in school, she'll call and ask about him."
Brown started her teaching career as a physical education teacher at Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School, where she taught for 16 and a half years. She found her passion working in special education at Round Top Elementary and worked there for three years. For the past seven years, she has been working at Westwood High School.
"They say if you love what you do, then you never work a day in your life. And that's truly how I feel," Brown said. "I genuinely love what I do. I love being here. I love these kids."
"She's different. She's special. She really is," Evans said.
Born and raised in Blythewood and a mom of two, Mrs. Brown is always thinking about her students.
"My personal children would be, 'Can we not talk about school?' But that just becomes part of who I am," Brown said. "And I don't really do a good job sometimes of separating the two. But they really do become a part of you."
With 26 years of teaching under her belt, Mrs. Brown isn't slowing down any time soon.
"I laugh because I tell people sometimes, 'I'll probably be here until you can't tell the difference between me and the kids.' Because we'll probably all be in a wheelchair," Brown said. "It'll be hard. But for now, I'm here until they run me off."
If you know a teacher like Mrs. Brown who deserves to be recognized for their hard work in the classroom, you can nominate them by emailing us at TOW@wltx.com. Tell us what that educator is doing every day to go above and beyond in the classroom.