Two more finalists for the LifeChanger of the Year grand prize were revealed at surprise ceremonies this week.
A science teacher in Florida and an assistant principal in Louisiana were alerted that they’re in the running at different events at nearly the same time.
Stephanie Killingsworth, pictured above and in the photo below with students, teaches at Connistion Middle School in West Palm Beach, Fla., but started her career as a scientist working in operating rooms assisting doctors with new orthopedic devices.
She turned to teaching after adopting children and now makes sure to get her middle school students well beyond the walls of the classroom, exposing them to college labs and other types of field work. She’s taken them out to sea to tag sharks and to beaches for cleanups.
She has also led them on international travel.
Lauren Kennedy, second photo below, is assistant principal at Eastside Elementary School in Denham Springs, Louisiana, which is in the Baton Rouge area.
Denham Springs is in Livingston Parish, which was hit by 31 inches of rain in 15 hours just as school was about to convene for the year in 2016. Massive floods swept the region.
She took in families who lost their homes. Then she gathered and coordinated a team to begin helping people deal with the devastation, cleaning out homes and eventually turning their attention to the home of a student who needed help. She ultimately set up a Facebook page to help track down assistance for the families from her school.
Both women are among the five finalists for LifeChanger’s grand prize and $10,000 cash award.
They’ve both been invited to our annual Conference of Champions in Bermuda for the awards ceremony in May.
