Diashiki Brown has always loved numbers. Her numerical skills were applied at Louisiana CAT, where she ensured that inventory corrections were accurate in her position as an Inventory Control Specialist. She didn’t know then that it would lead to a career as a professional teacher. 

“While this role aligned with my background in Business Administration,” said Brown. “I often struggled with being stuck behind a desk and working on a computer all day.”

The 7th-grade math teacher at East St. John Preparatory School holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Accounting from Southeastern Louisiana University. She worked at Louisiana CAT for five years before being laid off in 2021 due to COVID-19, but her passion for mentoring young people followed her.

“I faced the challenge of being laid off during the pandemic, which left me unemployed for about three months – a difficult period since I had been working since I was 17,” Brown said. “It wasn’t until a friend in another district“ asked me, would you like to teach in the classroom? I think you’d be great at it. I took a leap of faith and applied for a position in my hometown.” 

Brown was hired right after the interview. She obtained an alternative teaching certification from iTeach of Louisiana, a scholarship program by Marathon Petroleum in St. John the Baptist Parish that has assisted over 100 teachers in achieving certification.

Three years later, she was named the 2024 Best Teacher of the Year by the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board for her exceptional performance, a testament to her hard work and the positive impact on her school community.

She is already impacting her students’ learning journeys. Her teaching approach is thematic and project-based, which she says creates real-life opportunities in math education that have turned her classroom into a hotbed of enterprise.

“I integrate real-world examples and community-related projects into my math lessons. For instance, I partner with local businesses and organizations to help students understand how math is used daily,” she said. 

Last year, the St. John Parish School Educational Foundation awarded her a grant to make learning more meaningful for her students. Brown set up an in-class storefront where students could buy essential items like school supplies, hygiene products, and snacks, all while applying mathematical concepts in a practical context.

The students calculated all expenses, including taxes, markups, and markdowns, using their personalized spreadsheets to develop the critical thinking skills needed to apply these concepts in various real-life scenarios. 

“Whether budgeting for a community event, analyzing local business finances, or calculating the costs of goods and services, students can see how math applies to the world outside the classroom.”

Teaching is about building strong connections, Brown said. She has successfully engaged with the kids and families at East St. John Preparatory School, where she has dedicated her brief teaching career. 

“My true passion always leaned toward a more hands-on approach where I could make a real impact in people’s lives rather than just contributing to a company’s success,” Brown said. “I encourage parents to share their own professional experiences related to math, fostering a stronger home-school connection and giving students diverse perspectives on how their studies are valuable.”

She emphasized that students recognize that learning extends beyond the classroom, and when they see its real-world applications, their engagement, motivation, and success increase.