JTC 25: Teaching Runs Deep

In more than four decades of teaching, Anne Swift heard plenty of students say they wanted to become teachers. But few showed the early signs Laura Grace Brothers did. She seemed destined for the front of a classroom.

“Laura Grace wanted to be a teacher from day one,” said Swift, who taught Brothers in kindergarten. “She took every opportunity to work with students, even when there wasn’t a formal program.”

For Brothers, who is set to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Mississippi, the decision to become a teacher came naturally.

"From a very young age, people said I would be a teacher,” she said. “I loved seeing kids understand something for the first time."

That drive to teach runs deep in Brothers’ family, where the tradition stretches back generations. She will be the fifth generation of her family in education.

“We have educators on both sides of the family,” said Jay Brothers, her father. “Learning about it made it even more meaningful to see Laura Grace follow that path.”

As a child, the Nashville, Tennessee, native spent weekends creating makeshift classrooms, arranging stuffed animals as students and explaining math homework on a whiteboard she had asked for as a Christmas gift. She led games for neighborhood children, mediated playground disagreements and volunteered to work with children whenever she could.

Part of the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program, Brothers found a deeper connection to teaching through hands-on experience. She credits the field placements and support she received at Ole Miss for helping her feel prepared to walk into a classroom with confidence.

After graduate school, she will return to Mississippi to teach for a minimum of five years as part of her commitment to METP.

“At Ole Miss, we are not just learning about teaching; we are doing it,” she said. “We step into classrooms early and gain real experience. By the time we are seniors, we are truly prepared.”

Brothers has always felt at home in a classroom. Each afternoon, after her students leave, she remains behind, quietly cleaning up and reflecting on the day.

“At the end of the day, when the classroom is still and quiet, it feels sacred to me,” she said. “It is a safe space for students, and it has become one of my favorite places to be.”

Working with students makes every day feel meaningful and new, Brothers said.

“Working with kids makes every single day fun,” she said. “You never know what they are going to say or do. I tell every one of my students, ‘I want you here. I want to see you at school. I want you to be present and excited to learn.’”

Her kindergarten teacher is not surprised.

“She cares deeply, she is creative, she is persistent,” Swift said. “Any student who ends up in her classroom is going to be lucky.”

Teaching is not just a family tradition for Brothers. It is a lifelong calling, and she is ready to answer it.

Top: Fifth-generation educator Laura Grace Brothers has dreamed of teaching since childhood, a passion she’s nurtured through the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program at Ole Miss. Graduating with a degree in elementary education, she’s ready to turn her lifelong calling into a career serving Mississippi classrooms. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

See more photos from Laura Grace Brothers' Journey to Commencement