The most true part of being a teacher to me is authenticity, West Virginia professor of the year said.
Rachael Peckham was awarded 2024 Professor of the Year on Thursday, April 17. She was one of the five finalists among other professors in the state.
“I was surprised; I was. I know that sounds like false modesty, but it’s not,” Peckham said.
“Even just to be nominated from Marshall was the most happiest, most defining moment in my career so far.”
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Peckham said she didn’t even realize it at first when they called her name, but once she saw her dad celebrating, she realized what had happened. She said the amount of support and celebration she has received has been incredibly touching.
“It was just like the most emotional moment, and I’m still kind of processing it,” Peckham said. “I am just very overwhelmed by all of the support and the celebration that the last week has brought. I still don’t quite know what to say to it. I’m just so touched and honored, so it’s a lot of emotion.”
Peckham said whenever she stepped in for the interview, she had to be authentic to herself and her style of teaching, regardless of whether it would resonate with the judges or not.
“I thought that the interview was meaningful. It was a meaningful conversation, and I decided to just go in there and kind of do what I did in the classroom,” Peckham said. “Either that was going to bode well in the eyes of the committee or not, but I felt like that would be true to really who I am as a teacher.”
Peckham said the authenticity she has as a teacher, regardless of whether it contributed to her winning or not, is incredibly important to her. She said it feels bad not to practice what you preach, especially as a writer.
“When you’re teaching writing, it feels really bad to not practice what you preach,” Peckham said. “So, the way I talk to students is often a writer’s point of view. Like, ‘Hey, I get it. This is hard. Here’s how I’ve approached that challenge,’ or I’ll share certain struggles and failures that I’ve known as a writer and how I worked through those. I’m constantly trying to let them know, ‘I’m with you, I get it, and let’s think it through together writer to writer.’”
Peckham said though this award has been incredibly exciting and emotional for her, she feels like she has to up her game as a teacher with all of her supportive colleagues.
“It is quite remarkable the level of talent teaching talent in the English department,” Peckham said. “So, you know, it ups my game. It makes me want to be a better teacher, being surrounded by my colleagues, and that’s true, and I’m married to one of them. I really do love getting to collaborate with them and pick their brains. It’s quite frequent that we are conversing in the hallway, or hanging out in each other’s offices, working through together various challenges. Whether it’s about like AI or how to navigate a situation with a student, or with a difficult text that requires a lot of content warnings, we’re all the time trying to collaborate and help support each other.”
Peckham said while she is incredibly grateful for all the support and the award she’s been given, the thing about all of this is that after the awards ceremony, the next day, she was meeting with students. She got back to work, and that’s what’s important to her.
“You just get back to work, so I’m not dwelling on this too much,” Peckham said. “It’s been exciting, and I’m grateful for the support, but the truth is there will be a new set of challenges to kind of help keep me humble and grounded. That’s the teaching life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Soleil Woolard can be contacted at [email protected].
