HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Each year, on every Tuesday of Teacher Appreciation Week is Teacher Appreciation Day.
On every Teacher Appreciation Day, Houston County honors its senior teaching assistants who are graduating and on their way to becoming future educators.
Jesse Price said he's always known he's wanted to be a teacher.
"It all started when I was in Pre-K," he said. "I just fell in love with Teaching then. Of course, then, it was because I wanted to have a whole bunch of fun every day."
Getting to study in the Teaching as a Profession class at Houston County College and Career Academy helped him actively work towards that goal.
"It was my English language arts classes, more specifically my host teacher, Ms. Bagwell, who really helped me develop my love for reading and writing and wanting to be able to teach it to other people," Price said.
The 22 seniors were honored at Tuesday's event inside the school board's building.
Like Price, they all took the same class.
Those who completed two years of the program earned a certificate, a medal, their cords for graduation, and a letter with their college credit.
Some of his classmates also completed one year of the program.
Those in their second year of the program at the beginning of the school year got real-world experience through the teaching assistant roles.
The students are going their own ways to different colleges after graduation, including Georgia Southern University, Mercer and Fort Valley State University, to name a few.
Price, who studied at Northside High, is now on his way to Middle Georgia State University.
But before that happens, "For the summer, I'll be teaching at the Museum of Aviation," Price said. They do summer camps based around STEM, so I'll be teaching kindergarten for two weeks."
Since the program's been around for a while, it has some alumni spread around the state; many returned to Houston County, where they kickstarted their careers in high school.
A'Daysia Bivens says she's still learning classes one year into her role at C.B. Watson Primary.
"It all started with the program," she said.
Many teachers say being an educator is not an easy job, but it's certainly one of the most rewarding.
"It's not just me pouring into them; it's also them pouring into me and just making me a better person," Bivens said.