WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The warrior spirit of Warner Robins Middle runs deep in Aimee Bagwell.
When she was 11 years old, Bagwell took her first steps into the school she would teach at after graduating from college.
Bagwell earned her BA from Wesleyan College, her Masters in Education from Mercer University, and her education specialist degree from Georgia Southwestern University.
She said she always knew she'd want to return home to Houston County to teach kids growing up in the school district that raised her.
When she was hired at her middle school alma mater in 1991, Bagwell called it a full-circle moment.
Her three kids also went to WRMS when they were growing up.
As someone who says their middle school years were "formative," Bagwell remembers her middle school teachers' impact on her.
"They were not only experts in the subject that they'd teach, but they were experts in helping us become good people," Bagwell said.
"That's a goal for me," she continued. "I want the students that come through my classroom to become the citizens of tomorrow. We're going to be counting on these people. It just means the world to me that I get to be a teeny tiny bit of that."
She's become more than a small part of the big picture, her students say.
Jesse Price, who's Bagwell's teaching assistant, also had her when he was in middle school.
Since he was a preschooler, Price said he's always wanted to become a teacher.
Price and Bagwell recall a moment in his seventh-grade year when he approached her and said, "When I grow up, I want to be an English teacher."
Bagwell's made her mark where it matters most to her.
"I've just seen how much of an impact she's had on the WRMS community," Price added.
Bagwell's last batch of students also recognizes her effect on them.
One of her students, Ethan, said the qualities that make Bagwell so great is that "she's very kind and very understanding."
Bagwell's daughter, Mary-Preston Bagwell, is a special education teacher at Parkwood Elementary.
She said having her mom as her biggest inspiration is a blessing.
Another student, Maxwell, said Bagwell treats her students like her own kids.
"Language Arts, you can only make it so fun," he said, smiling. "It's not the most entertaining, but she makes it very enjoyable, and I like that."
"I don't think it's gonna be WRMS without Ms. Bagwell," Price said.
Congratulations on your retirement, Ms. Bagwell.