Kelcey Becnel, Pearl River County School District’s High School band director and general music teacher, has been named as Nissan of Picayune’s Teacher of the Week.

Kelcey has been teaching for the past six years, five of which have been at the Pearl River County School District.

She is the director of the Pearl River County High School Blue Brigade, she teaches band for the Pearl River Central Middle School and is the High School’s general music class instructor.

One of the most enjoyable parts of teaching to Kelcey is that it provides her the ability to share her love of music with her students. She also enjoys seeing those students learn and grow into leaders.

“I am blessed as a music educator to teach my students over the course of a seven-year period,” Kelcey said. “It is an amazing thing to look at my senior band students and see the fantastic things they are doing, not just in music, but in their daily lives. Through music, students develop natural leadership skills that will be useful to them in all aspects of life.”

One of the major points she wants her students to learn in her class is that kindness can go a long way when dealing with others.

“Especially in today’s world, you never know the steps someone has encountered to stand in the same place you are standing,” Kelcey said. “Having someone be kind to you can sometimes change your entire perspective on a situation.”

One thing her students may not know about her is that while she was earning her music education degree, she was a signed runway and print model for Alexa Model and Talent, a company based in Tampa, Fla.