Those are the words of Eunice Thomas, mother of Maryland teacher William Thomas, a native of Ellenville who graduated from Ellenville High School in the class of 1993. On October 3, Thomas was named the 2009 Teacher of the Year for the entire state of Maryland, a recognition which follows his being named Teacher of the Year for Prince George's County this past May.

"It was the experience of a lifetime, definitely a surprise, I would say," says William himself, referring to the award he won two weeks ago in Baltimore. "You know, a lot of people said they thought I had a good chance of winning. There were so many great teachers from all the counties, and…it could've been any one of us. They're all outstanding teachers, and I'm very, very honored to have received the award."

Thomas teaches Advanced Placement Government at Dr. Henry Wise High School in Marlboro, Maryland, and was placed in the Top Eight State Finalists for the award as the night began. In total, 24 counties were represented.

Eunice Thomas, who has worked in Ellenville's High School cafeteria for 26 years, describes the obviously exciting moment she found out that her son had won.

"Right in front of everybody, 3,000 people, I was sitting there quietly because I didn't expect that William would ever — I knew he was smart, I knew he was a genius," she says. "When the lieutenant governor said, 'hand me the envelope'…he opened it and said, 'William Thomas.' I jumped and I screamed, and my children had to sit me down."

"My mom was very, very excited. She's still excited," says William.

"I couldn't sleep for two nights; I was so excited I couldn't sleep," says Eunice. "It was a night I will never forget. I will never forget it, believe me."

Along with his designation as the Teacher of the Year, William also received a Saturn Aura, valued at $25,000, an award of $9,000, and $15,000 worth of educational supplies and teaching materials, including a smart-board and laptop. And in April, 2009, he will compete amongst 58 United States and Territories at a ceremony at the White House for the national version of the award.

"I've got to go on the circuit now," says William. "I've been receiving a lot of calls. A local chapter of the NAACP has asked me to go to one of their functions. The MSTA, the Maryland State Teachers Association, the union, they're having a convention and they're asking me to speak there."

When asked if he plans to make a trip back to his hometown to say a few words, his answer is easy: "definitely."

"I was speaking to my mom about that," he says. "I'm trying to clear some time, things really happened very quickly…it's funny how dates fill up quickly, but I would definitely love to come back to the high school, just to talk to the students, maybe give them a positive word.

"Anybody can do it," he continues. "I came from Ellenville, and I want to show my appreciation for Ellenville. I know a lot of times students, while they're going to the schools, they don't appreciate what they're getting from it, until afterward when they look back and they realize what a great school it was. Ellenville, it's always been a great school."

"This is a plus for little Ellenville. Ellenville schools produce good children," says Eunice.

William had even been offered the chance to work as an administrator in recent years, but has turned the jobs down in favor of remaining a teacher and working directly with students.

"I went into education primarily to teach — that's where my passion is. I know there's great work to be done in administration, but right now really I'm enjoying the classes so much that I couldn't leave right now.

"I want to show my appreciation for my teachers I had going up through the Ellenville school system," says William. "Obviously I first took an interest in teaching because of my teachers, and just the positive experiences that I had.

"As a matter of fact, I just received a card from my third grade teacher Mrs. Corbett. She just wanted to say how proud she was. It's a great thing — I know it makes teachers proud when their students go on to advance, because I feel the same way when I have a student who has major accomplishments. It makes you proud."

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