A Teacher in the Making
College students are known to change their majors before they decide what they want to do when they grow up. Luckily, Liberty Middle School teacher Hawanya Urquhart left chemical engineering for English Education so that she could become the esteemed 2023 Michigan Middle School English Teacher of the year.
She has been in the P-CCS district since 2010, has over 25 years of experience and she loves her job!
Inspiring Students in School and Beyond
It’s no secret that Hawanya is an avid reader and loves books. She likes to say, “...if you think reading is boring, you’re doing it wrong.”
What she loves even more is to help her students make connections between reading and life, and to encourage her students to make reading goals each year so that it becomes a habit. When asked about what inspires her she states, "I'm inspired by young people who are learning to use their voices and discovering who they are."
Ultimately, she hopes that students will remember their time in her classroom in a positive light and realize how books influenced their lives.
Giving Back to the Community
Hawanya’s philosophy, “be a better person,” shines through all the areas of her life. She is the daughter of two educators, so teaching is in her blood. She states that she has one biological child and 140 “stepchildren” that she adopts each school year.
Her favorite hobby is reading—which is no surprise—followed by listening to music. When asked about her favorite books, she states that The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, Accountable by Dashka Slater, The Getaway by Lamar Giles, and The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin top her list.
To add to her already busy schedule, Hawanya hosts book clubs for the P-CCS district and Project LIT.
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