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Our Star of the Month for January is Jacquelyn Veith from Whites Creek High School. Jacquelyn is in her second year at the school as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher. She teaches classes in agriscience, alternative energy, and agricultural and biotechnical engineering.

Students at Whites Creek have an opportunity to choose different pathways geared towards their interests. It is an opportunity for them to have training regardless of whether they plan on advancing their education after graduation.

“I encourage my students who want to go to college to absolutely pursue that,” said Veith. “For my students who don’t really want to go to college, I encourage them to either look into trade schools, because trade schools are amazing, or I ask them ‘what do you want to do? What is the thing you want? Where do you want to be when you leave this place?’ And then try to help them figure out how to get there.”

Veith also encourages students to volunteer in the community. She brings students to help serve food at Nashville Rescue Mission each month.

“They get to help their community members give back to the community and really get that community engagement, which I think is really important for our kids,” said Veith. “Whether they have been on the other side of that receiving line or not, I still think it’s really important to give back whenever you can.”

Veith believes volunteering is a chance for students to gain exposure to the world outside of what they see everyday.

“It’s trying to get teenagers to see the world for more than just themselves,” said Veith. “It’s just trying to grow that larger world view to see that even small acts of kindness can make a huge impact on the world around us.”

Veith values the history of the Nashville Stars name from its roots in the Negro Leagues. She believes it is a great learning opportunity for her students.

“History is important,” said Veith. “I had a kid who said they didn’t understand what barnstorming was. They didn’t understand how bad athletes had it, and now you’ve got a new generation of kids who are talking and learning about it.”

If you know of someone who is making a positive difference in our community, please let us know