3 Overbrook alumni make a difference during a year riddled with violence
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- They help shape young minds. We recognize all the teachers across our area on National Teacher Appreciation Day.
For the past 19 years, Deworski Odom has climbed the ranks at Overbrook High School and says he's never missed a day of work.
"I know the students need me, and I need them. They keep me motivated...they keep me young," Odom said.
Odom was a professional athlete.
He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame and now as Philadelphia struggles with a gun violence crisis he pushes his students to stay committed and always dream big.
"There's more in life than just Philadelphia. There's more out there that you can see, that you can touch, can feel if you put your mind to it," Odom said.
It's a message of hope echoed by Overbrook High School teachers Shakeerah Barrett and Rendell Ivory
"Our students are just so much bigger than the things that surround them and we help them see that every day," Barrett said.
"You aim for the stars, wherever you land then you found your spot," Ivory said.
These teachers are now living out a dream and serving as mentors in the same building they earned their diplomas.
Not only did all three teachers graduate from Overbrook but they also played sports and are now coaches. They're active alumni giving back to their community.
"My post plan was always to be a teacher and specifically to be a teacher here at Overbrook High School," Barrett said.
And their jobs are perhaps more important this school year than ever before after four Overbrook students were shot right before Thanksgiving and a 9th grader was shot back in January.
"I'm definitely someone the students can talk to and I can relate because I lived through these traumatic experiences," Ivory said.
"We have to have a higher standard, live by that standard, and our kids are starting to go by that standard as well," Odom said.
On National Teacher Appreciation Day and every day these teachers say their pride and passion won't let up.