"Even if you do fail, you can learn from that and try better next time."

"You all are my favorite thing."

"I just felt like this was where I was supposed to be. I just felt like the perfect fit."

"I felt very certain that I had to be a teacher. There's no other option. I didn't even consider anything else."

"Whenever I saw this opening to come back home and give back to a school district that gave me such a great experience — there was no doubt that's where I wanted to be."

"Just a little town... everybody was just friends."

Ask most people what FFA is, and they'll picture tractors and farm fields. At Du Quoin High School, that assumption runs up against a quick reality check.

"I feel like it's kind of both an accomplishment and a loss. We did what we had to do in the previous building."

Aleiya King describes basketball as, "Like, my everything."

"After being in that room, I knew that I wanted to do special education."

"Being able to impact students' positively for the rest of their lives — I think that's something that would bring me a lot of fulfillment."