HUNTINGDON COLLEGE
News Release
September 9, 2024
For more information, contact:
Laura Brelsford | laura.brelsford@hawks.huntingdon.edu | 334-833-4563
Huntingdon Inspired by Teacher of the Year
Montgomery, AL – Friday, September 6, Huntingdon College welcomed the 2024 Alabama Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Deborah Stringfellow, to campus. Huntingdon College rolled out the scarlet carpet with a celebration of school spirit to honor Mrs. Stringfellow. Special guests, community members, faculty, staff, and students were greeted at Flowers Hall by the Huntingdon College Ambassadors, the Huntingdon Hawks Cheerleaders, and the Marching Scarlet and Grey Band. The festive celebration included lively music and cheering that could not be dampened by the rainy weather.
The event was hosted by the Huntingdon College Teacher Education and Fine Arts Department, and Huntingdon College President Anthony Leigh and Huntingdon First Lady Mrs. Wendy Leigh. The program was part of the President’s Year of the Educator initiative to honor and highlight teachers and administrators not only in the Huntingdon family but across the state of Alabama.
After an introduction by Mrs. Leigh, a former teacher who taught for years with Mrs. Stringfellow, the guest of honor took the stage. Stringfellow shared with the audience a story of faith, wisdom, and service in her life and in her education career. Stringfellow’s life was impacted early on and shaped by education. She was inspired by teachers who believed in her and pushed her to succeed, parents who valued education, and coworkers and students who motivated her to use her classroom as a mission field.
Stringfellow shared that we must have faith to continue to believe each day that we can get up and make change in the world; but faith is only the first step. She continued by sharing that faith needs wisdom, and not just wisdom gained by acquiring knowledge. She believes that wisdom is even more about how we use that knowledge to serve others. Teaching, to Stringfellow, is not about conveying information; teaching is a service profession that uses wisdom as a tool. She spoke passionately about her own life where others acted in service to give her a refuge at school, to give her opportunities, and to give her a desire to do more in her life. She encouraged the audience to use service to open doors for others, to recognize that every kind act and every moment of support and encouragement can change another life for the better.
Stringfellow concluded with a call to action. She remarked that everyone, regardless of profession or college major, can create infinite change in the world. She told the audience that included numerous future educators that it is never too late to have faith, to gain wisdom, or to share service to make another life better, often by believing in others before they can even believe in themselves.
Emma Grace Samples ’27, an education major from Gadsden, Alabama commented after the event, “I can safely say that the Teacher of the Year delivered a speech that touched not only my heart but many of the hearts of the education majors in the room. It sparked a fire in many of us, not why she chose to teach but why we should choose to teach.”
Stringfellow was announced in May as the 2024 Alabama Teacher of the Year, chosen from more than 40,000 teachers across the state. She is currently a fourth-grade teacher at Airport Road Intermediate School in Millbrook, Alabama and has a career spanning over 40 years in the classroom and in administrative roles. While in Millbrook, Stringfellow has been a mentor to numerous students in the Huntingdon College teacher education program and many Huntingdon alumni educators.
Huntingdon College, grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition of the United Methodist Church, is committed to nurturing growth in faith, wisdom, and service and to graduating individuals prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Founded in 1854, Huntingdon is a coeducational liberal arts college.
###
