How one teacher went from student to instructor at her alma mater [Video]

Reagan Ayers is in her fourth year of teaching at Northside High School. But before becoming an instructor, she sat in the same seats as her class as a Northside student.

“This community poured so much into me,” Ayers said. “It’s a gift to be able to pour back into it.”

After graduating, Ayers started at Mercer University. Soon after, she became a Northside student-teacher. During that time, she said her mentor-teachers gave her invaluable guidance.

“I feel blessed that my mentors now are the same mentors I had almost a decade ago when I was in school,” she said. “And I do believe that if people can have that rallying cry behind them, there’s no reason more people cannot succeed in this profession.”

She said a former mentor passed down classroom decor that she still has in …