Editors note: Part of an ongoing series featuring the teachers nominated for Vicksburg-Warren County

Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year honors.

On the good days and the bad, Dexter Peterson is going to be the same — a ball of energy, always ready to motivate his students.

“I put out a lot of energy and they feed off of that,” Peterson said. “Through my smart board and YouTube, I use a lot of motivational videos, which span from one to four minutes long. They can get inspiration from that. I put a lot of energy into when I teach or when I do one-on-one instruction.”

Peterson is an exceptional education teacher at Vicksburg High School and is his school’s nominee for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce Secondary Teacher of the Year.

“It means a lot that my colleagues and my administrator saw fit and the work ethic I have and chose me,” Peterson said. “I am shocked too because I always get nominated, but I have never made it this far.”

Peterson received his bachelors in communication from Mississippi State in 2004 and has been teaching for six years after originally pursing a different career.

“I always wanted to teach, but as I started going to college I had some mentor teachers who were like it is a tough profession and the money is not there,” Peterson said. “I straight away took an office job and while sitting in that office I was wondering how would it be to actually teach?”

He then quit his job and started the process of becoming a certified teacher. It was while he was pursuing his certificate that he began working as a long-term substitute teacher in an exceptional education class and fell in love with the work. Since finding his calling as a teacher, Peterson had earned a masters in administrative leadership from Strayer University and a Specialist degree in administrative leadership from William-Carey.

“What I enjoy is seeing those kids that most say they can’t accomplish or they can’t learn and do, learn and do things that others thought they couldn’t do,” Peterson said, “That is very rewarding to see those kids overcome and pass the state tests or pass that hard class that many wouldn’t have been expected to pass.”

Working in exceptional education, Peterson said success is keeping the students on task and helping them to learn the assigned curriculum. Sometimes that is math, English or science and other times it is life skills. This has forced him to become a well-rounded teacher who can help students with any problems they face.

“I consider myself well-rounded and knowledgeable about a lot of different subjects because I have the privileged to teach a lot of different subjects,” Peterson said. “It looks like a tough day sometimes, but because of my background and knowledge in those different subjects I am able to help those kids get through.”

And through it all, Peterson is coming with full energy to brighten the day of any student who may be feeling down.

“A lot of them come and they are discouraged from home life,” he said. “There is a lot of negativity around so being that positive person they get to see in the morning helps brighten that day.”

The Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce will choose one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year at the chamber luncheon Feb. 21. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runner-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.

“It would mean a lot because I get to show my students that hard work pays off and people do recognize you for your hard work,” Peterson said of his reaction if he won the award. “A lot of time as educators, it feels like you are in that fight, you’re working hard and you’re not really getting recognized or rewarded for that work you do. To actually win, I think a lot of kids would get to see their role model be a champion.”