This past Teacher Appreciation Week, celebrated May 4-8, a giveaway was held at Gelati Celesti, a local ice cream chain spanning 11 stores across Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Gelati Celesti gave out free scoops for teachers and had students, parents and peers vote for who deserved the prize of a $100 giftcard, equivalent to an ice cream party. There were 11 winners, but there was one who stood out: Ocean Lakes’ Thomas Stewart.
“I find deep joy in helping students leverage their education to improve their lives,” Stewart said. “[I did not expect to win] at all. One of my students mentioned that she nominated me, but I immediately imagined the hundreds of other nominations and felt like there was probably no chance.”
Stewart was nominated for a reason. According to senior Colt Walker, he and the rest of his peers enjoy Stewart’s class.
“In the classroom, Mr. Stewart brings really positive energy and great vibes to every student,” Colt said. “He’s also the funniest teacher I have ever had and has the best jokes.”
Suzy Rosser and Tom Rosser, siblings and the co-presidents of Gelati Celesti, organized the Teacher Appreciation Week giveaway.
“We put out a call for nominations and ended up with over 1,800 submissions. We were blown away,” Suzy Rosser said. “There were so many amazing [nominations] that we couldn’t even begin to pick, so we threw them all into a randomizer drawing and let the universe decide! We love giving back to the community, especially when it comes to the public school system.”
