Martin Vickers, a graduate of Crestview High School in Okaloosa County, Florida, has returned to his alma mater as a teacher after more than 20 years. Vickers always wanted to become a teacher, but after earning his English degree and a minor in education, he initially struggled to find a teaching job due to limited opportunities for inexperienced teachers at the time. He worked as an editor before finally receiving a teaching offer in Walton County in 2009.
Vickers said, “I never was fully satisfied sitting behind a desk all day…I really wanted to work with young people. I’d been influenced by so many wonderful teachers, and I wanted to have the same influence.”
His commitment to supporting students was evident early on. When he had a deaf student and only intermittent access to an interpreter, Vickers began learning American Sign Language on his own time. “We had an interpreter, but there were times—maybe before or after school—the interpreter was not there, and I wanted to communicate with the student. So, I started going home at night and studying American Sign Language. I never got great, but I got to where I could hold a basic conversation…there has always been a desire to find ways outside of my norm to help people,” he explained.
After eight years teaching in Walton County and some time at Davidson Middle School in Okaloosa County, Vickers returned to Crestview High School. Noticing an increase in English language learners among his students, he decided to improve his Spanish skills using online tools such as Duolingo.
This personal initiative became more significant when two of the school’s three Spanish teachers retired in the same year. Vickers approached school administrators about switching from teaching English to Spanish and received strong support from them. He then studied Spanish at Northwest Florida State College and read novels in Spanish until he passed the subject area exam required for certification.
Now entering his third year as a Spanish teacher at Crestview High School, Vickers works alongside Leah Merritt—his former Spanish teacher from high school. “Ms. Merritt was an amazing teacher then. She is an amazing person now. I am so thankful for the opportunity (to work alongside her),” said Vickers.
Reflecting on changes during his sixteen-year career across different counties and subjects, Vickers emphasized the importance of continual learning and connecting with students: “if there has even been an interest (in studying another language), the students who speak another language are super encouraged by anything you can pick up.”
The Florida Education Association encourages nominations for educators who make similar impacts within their communities through its member spotlights program.
