Michelle Suzuki and Melinda Lewis on some of the struggles that teachers are going through right now

In this week's episode of First Lady and Friends, Utah's First Lady, Abby Cox, is joined by Michelle Suzuki (SVP Marketing of Instructure) to talk about some of the hardships that many teachers in Utah have had to overcome during the pandemic, how we can help ease some of the stress for our teachers, and some of the ways that Instructure is honoring teachers throughout the state. 

We are also joined by Melinda Lewis (6th-grade Teacher with Sand Springs Elementary) who shares her path to becoming a teacher, what her first year of teaching was like, and why it's so important to empower our students to help them achieve success.

Then we talk about what an average day looks like for a teacher, how chemo treatments have impacted Melinda's day-to-day activities, and why teacher compensation and funding need to be addressed.

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Join Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox and her friends for timely and candid conversations with fascinating people with unique perspectives in an effort to unite us all through our common humanity. Each week, Abby dives into discussions on topics ranging from education to motherhood to mental health and beyond. 

Abby is an outspoken advocate for “getting proximate” with people who have different viewpoints, and using her platform as Utah’s First Lady to combat the empathy crisis our country is facing. 

Come along with us as we journey to bring courage, compassion and connection back into our homes and communities... and have a lot of fun along the way! THANK YOU for being our friend.