Sulphur native Sean Andrus, 34, has been teaching for a decade and is constantly inspired by his aunt, Jackie Stevens, who has taught at Washington-Marion High School for 40 years.

“Her continued dedication to her school community inspires me to give the same dedication to my students.”

His initial inspiration, however, came from Skip Carlin, one of his former high school coaches. “He reached out to me when I was enrolled at McNeese to get into coaching. He knew that I had an interest in the profession and had room on his staff.”

This phone call led to a shift in his career path.

Andrus graduated from Sulphur High School in 2006 and graduated from McNeese State University with a degree in general studies six years later.

It wasn’t until he coached that he realized he wanted to earn his teaching certification,which he later received from Louisiana Christian University in 2013.

He spent his first year as an educator at Reynaud Middle School. He then taught at F.K. White Middle School for seven years before entering his current role at Lake Charles College Prep.

For the last two years, Andrus has been the ninth and tenth grade boys physical education and health teacher, as well as the head boys basketball coach at LCCP.

As a teacher, Andrus enjoys the community and the mission. “Education allows me to be a part of the village of adults that help guide this generation into their future careers,” he said.

He aims to pass on the nurturing that he was given as a student to his classes. “I enjoy paying all the life lessons that I learned from my teachers forwards to my current students.”

His day-to-day philosophy is to “keep the main thing the main thing.”

This ideology is an important grounding technique that helps him remember his mission as an educator. “In the education field, it is not always easy days, but as long as you’re in it for the right reasons, which is to help grow great young people, then you understand why you have been called to this profession.”

His students also help him stay in the moment by keeping him energized. “Everyday is a new challenge, and I enjoy how they make everything interesting,” he said. “There’s never a dull day in education!”

Andrus is grateful for the opportunity to help his community, as he believes education is a vital component in nurturing future productive citizens. “The pathway to all professions, so it is key that we as teachers continue to inspire our future leaders.”

It is important that educators always remember that the profession is truly a calling, he said. It is no easy task to be an adult leader in a student’s life. “We spend more time with our students than we do our own families, so to be a teacher is to become an extended family member, a role model, a counselor and most importantly, a servant,” he said. “The impact we have on our students will last past their time with us in school.”

“You never know who you may inspire.”