ORLANDO, Fla. — Maria Ojeda has dedicated her life to students.  Her principal wrote to Spectrum News 13 to nominate her, saying that her students make tremendous learning growth each year thanks to the fun, hands-on learning methods Ojeda uses.  

Step inside Ojeda's classroom, and you'll see that her work is a labor of love built on experience. Ojeda has been teaching first grade at Camelot Elementary School for 22 years. She's been in the classroom, though, for a total of 39 years.

She says when she was a kid she dreamed of being a teacher and would line up her dolls to teach them. She says as she grew up, she saw how hard her single mother worked to support her and her three brothers, so she decided to pursue a career as a certified public accountant until a professor told her she'd have to memorize every single law in her book. She says she immediately switched her major to education.

Ojeda says it was the best decision she ever made. 

Over the years, Ojeda has been honored as teacher of the year twice.  

"I just wanted to be a small part of a child's educational journey," she says. 

So what does she want her students to get out of her class?

"Just the joy of learning. That's it," Ojeda says. "I want them to enjoy learning because I think if they have a joy of learning, their learning is going to be amazing throughout their whole educational journey."