Talitha Pitre, 42, decided to become a teacher after a stint as a tutor in college.

After graduating from LaGrange High School, she enrolled at LSU to pursue a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.

Though she had great teachers – especially her middle and high school band directors Darrell Carriere and James Hearne – she wasn’t inspired to become a teacher until she oversaw an LSU tutoring program. She tutored high school students to help prepare them for the ACT.

“Working with those students made me want to teach,” she recalled. “I enjoyed watching those students grow, then watching them graduate high school and join us at LSU.”

Witnessing the hard work they put into their studies motivated her to return to Lake Charles to earn her Master of Education from McNeese State University.

She is in the middle of her 10th year as a teacher.

In the past, she taught chemistry, physics and physical science at Washington-Marion Magnet High School and sixth through eighth grade science at Immaculate Conception Cathedral School.

Now, she teaches chemistry and physics to 11th and 12th grade students at Lake Charles College Prep.

The position is perfect because she loves science (particularly science with lots of math) and working with older students. Pitre prefers teaching middle and high school because of their curiosity and independence. Like with the students she tutored in college, as a teacher she enjoys working directly with her students and watching them grow.

“They are at the age where they begin to question everything.”

She also feels at home at LCCP. Faculty and staff trust her to operate as a professional, she said, and have educational values that align with her own.

“Education is much more than hitting standards; it’s helping students become their best version of themselves,” she said. “The focus should be on students more than accolades and awards. … The accolades don’t mean anything if we have not added value to our students’ lives.”

But no matter what environment she and her students are in, she maintains positive relationships with them, and works to maintain a safe learning environment that allows students to comfortably explore difficult concepts.

“My students know that I care about them. Students sometimes spend more time with educators than with their parents. I want to make sure I add value to their lives. … Even though the family is the most important role in a student’s life, as educators we can help students grow and be the future leaders of our community.”

All teachers should aim to break the mold and be themselves for students, she said.

“Try to work at a school that allows you to be your authentic self and not try and put you in a box. Students respond much better when you are authentic.”