Growing up in Champaign, Alicia Liay von Bodman was told by multiple educators that she had what it took to become a teacher. Despite dismissing those suggestions at the time, she eventually pursued the profession.
In 2008, eight years into her teaching career, the Champaign Central graduate moved with her family back to her hometown, where she’s been teaching ever since. She’s taught first grade, Enrichment, and this year, she filled a need for the school by moving into a fifth-grade classroom.
I find my work important because … it is. We help students realize their strengths; academically, of course, but also emotionally and socially. Teachers facilitate learning and empower students to ask questions, take risks, find interests and — most importantly — fail forward. When students can fail and recover, it is one of the most important skills they’ll ever learn.
I became a teacher because … there were people in my life who saw something in me that, at the time, I could not. My seventh-grade teacher, Barbara Yount, told me I should be a teacher when I was in high school. Of course, being a typical high-schooler, I dismissed her insight without much thought. Later, my counselor, Brad Hastings, suggested I pursue a degree in education. It wasn’t until I started taking classes in education that I truly realized why they had suggested it for me. I can honestly say that I love what I do, which I know is a gift and a privilege.
My favorite or most unique lesson that I teach is … When I was the Enrichment teacher, I created an end-of-the-year engineering design project for my fifth-graders. My students worked in small groups to design and build a mini-golf hole for a full 18-hole miniature golf course. Each hole had a theme and obstacles to make it challenging. At the end of the project, the entire school came out to play the course as well as our then-superintendent, Susan Zola, and some members of our board of education. It was one of my favorite lessons, and many of my former students still talk about it.
My most fulfilling moments on the job are when … a student has a moment of triumph after a struggle. There is nothing better than standing back allowing a child to find their way through a problem with full faith that their success is imminent. It can be so tempting to step in to help sometimes, and there are certainly moments that I must. When a student perseveres through frustration or after failure, there’s nothing better. It’s hard not to bask in their glow when that happens.
I keep students engaged by … staying connected. Students love to feel a connection; a connection with me, a connection with each other, a connection with experiences or memories. I share anecdotes in lessons that I know will hook them in because they’ll want to share their own connection. They want to feel seen and feel heard just as much as they want to feel a connection to what they’re learning. I give them opportunities to share their connections, and this helps them stay engaged. This is something I learned from my mentor, Dr. Mike Martin, who was my principal at Kingsley in Evanston.
Something else I’m passionate about is … my family. My parents, Lou and Mary Liay, are in their 90s, live independently and are very active. We get to see them often and love them dearly. Our daughters, Cate and Elie, are juniors at Central, and our son, Max, is a sophomore at Colorado State University. My husband, Achim, and I spend a lot of time watching the girls play soccer with Central, IllinoisFC or at Soccer Planet, of which we are co-owners. We enjoy traveling but have spent more time visiting Fort Collins, Colo., since our son moved out there. I also take voice lessons with Ryan Groff at Perennial Sound Studio once a week, which I love doing.
My favorite teacher and subject to study in school was … Rosemary Costello, fifth grade at Holy Cross School, and Sally Pilcher, creative writing at Champaign Central High School.
— ANTHONY ZILIS