“Repeated success is excellence,” English teacher Rachel Pope said, quoting Jay-Z.

Pope believes that striving for greatness all the time will pay off in the long run rather than striving once and not forming a routine. She expects nothing less than greatness from her students.

“From a young age I knew what I wanted to do,” Pope said. She comes from a strong Caribbean background and her grandmother did everything to create the best life for her kids. Her mother moved to the United States so Pope could live a better life. She knew that she had to make her mom and grandmother proud because of the struggle that they went through to get her here.

Pope completed 12 years of post-high school education. She spent four years on her undergraduate, two years on her masters, two years in administration, and four years in a doctoral program. She originally wanted to major in law but had a change of plans after she volunteered at an elementary school. “I ended up staying in education and that motivated me to know that I can help students that look like me,” Pope said.

“She’s someone I can go to for advice,” English teacher Chris Smith said. “She makes me a better educator.” Smith plans the freshman curriculum with Pope and has gotten to know her better than many teachers.

“She inspires me to be a better person. That’s why I always go to her for advice,” sophomore Leah Niles said. Pope is aware of how much knowledge she holds, so she tries her best to apply it to the youth. She understands how powerful education is and by becoming a teacher, she gets to play a role in how this generation succeeds.

“We live in a great world with great people and we only get to experience about 10 percent of that, so I got to learn another 90 percent that I’ll never get to explore,” Pope said. Pope’s extended educational experience gave her a better understanding of how to use knowledge to her advantage and how to get others to do the same.