Eric (Basketball, Ut Tyler) grew up in Houston. HelloNation asks student athletes one question about the place that raised them and records the answer on camera. This is Eric’s, in full.
The question
Tell us about a teacher or mentor from high school who challenged you the most or inspired you in a way that still shapes who you are today. Who are they, and what lesson from them do you carry into your life now?
The answer, as recorded
Transcript. What follows is a transcript of the video above, in Eric’s own words. It has not been rewritten, and no part of it was drafted for them.
Hi everyone, I'm Eric Arreola. I'm from Houston, Texas, and I'm 19 years old. One teacher from high school who really inspired me was Ms. Dean. She was someone who always pushed me to do better, even when I didn't believe in myself. What stood out to me the most was the motivation she gave me. She always reminded me that I was capable of doing more, and that I should never give up just because something was hard. She challenged me to stay focused, work harder, and take my future seriously. The biggest lesson I learned from Ms. Dean was to keep going and believe in myself, even when things don't go the way I planned. The lesson still stays with me today. Whenever I feel stressed or feel like giving up, I think about the encouragement she gave me back in high school and remind myself to just keep fighting, keep going, keep pushing. Ms. Dean helped me understand that having someone believe in you can make a really big difference, and her motivation is something that still carries me in my life today. Thank you, guys. I hope my message was pretty inspiring to you guys. Thank you.
Recorded by HelloNation as part of its athlete voices program and published by Hello Newswire, HelloNation’s good news newswire. The words are the speaker’s own.
Reported by Hello Newswire.