logo
Login Subscribe
Google Play App Store
  • News
    • Obituaries
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinions
  • Sports
  • E-edition
  • Calendar
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertisers
    • Form Submission
    • About Us
    • News
      • Obituaries
      • Lifestyle
      • Opinions
    • Sports
    • E-edition
    • Calendar
    • Archives
    • Contact
      • Contact Us
      • Advertisers
      • Form Submission
      • About Us
Mastering it all
news
January 10, 2024
Mastering it all
By LaDonna Rhodes Staff Writer,

Local teacher beats cancer and obtains Master’s Degree

Adults over the age of 25 represent around 40 percent of enrollment in U.S. higher education today. That’s nearly eight million learners and 73 percent of those adults consider themselves lifelong learners. This is true for educator Amanda Davis who recently celebrated the completion of her Master’s Degree in Education and was thrilled to finally commemorate the event.

“It took me 10 years to finally meet this personal goal that I have literally had since I was a little girl,” Davis said. “I remember as a very young child telling myself that a Master’s Degree is what I wanted. The last 10 years have included three degree plan changes, fighting esophageal cancer which resulted in me being medically separated from the Air Force, birthing my miracle baby girl, finding my true passion of becoming a teacher, and navigating a new career after not knowing if any of it would be possible. But God!”

Davis credits the Lord for putting the right people in her path so she would finish her education even after receiving an ugly cancer diagnosis while she was in the military and undergoing aggressive treatment to finally be in remission.

Davis then went on to teach 2nd grade at Marshall Elementary for two years and now she is at Carlton Landing teaching 1st and 2nd grade.

“I have almost finished my Certified Academic Language Practitioners (CALP) certification. This allows me to provide explicit, systematic, sequential Multisensory Structured Language instruction which builds a high degree of accuracy, knowledge, and independence for students with written-language disorders, including dyslexia. So not only did I complete my Master’s I also worked on this in order to assist children with reading difficulties. Literacy is where my heart is and watching a child grasp the rules and concepts is structured language makes every day teaching so worthwhile.

“Teaching was what I was meant to do but at first I disregarded it because I had a huge battle to fight. However, God knew what He was doing because once the cancer was in remission He put another educator, Mandi Pitts, in my life and she became God’s vessel to once again tell me that teaching was what I was meant to do.”

“Throughout the years I often doubted myself but God would speak through my amazing husband, Ryan, who encouraged me through the tears and frustration. He supported me through the long hours it took to do homework and never complained or made me feel bad for being so consumed in my schooling.”

“God has also given me friends like Elizabeth Junell Creekbaum, who tells me she is proud of me and all that I have accomplished. I definitely need these amazing people in my life because I give so much to teaching but still find myself wondering if I am doing a good job. However, God always finds ways to show me that I am making a difference through those He has put in my life and the little faces I share my days with in the classroom.”

“I say all this to say that it is not about a ceremony but the bumpy, winding, gravel road it took to get here. It makes me proud of myself and if you know me at all, it takes a lot for me to be proud of my accomplishments. I’m not one for the limelight or public recognition but I wanted to share this because it is something to be proud of and to encourage others that it’s never too late to reach for your goals and work toward your dreams. Yes, it takes effort, hard work and determination but it is so worth it! Just go for it!”

The annual 4th of July Fireworks show
A: Main, news
The annual 4th of July Fireworks show
July 9, 2025
Eufaula’s population was swollen over the weekend as thousands of out-of-towners joined locals to watch the annual 4th of July Fireworks show, held Friday, July 4. The display took place over the Eufa...
A: Main, news
City gets more attorneys; OKs growth plan
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 9, 2025
New-and-former City Manager Jacob Foos continues to make changes at city hall. Shortly after being re-hired for the position he left in September, 2021, Foos issued a statement that he was establishin...
Local resident stars in U.S. Cellular ad
A: Main, news
Local resident stars in U.S. Cellular ad
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 9, 2025
In all of her 58 years Louana Christie, EHS Class of ’85, never thought she would appear before a camera. Movie making was for her older sister, Selina Jayne Dornan, former Eufaula mayor and who once ...
A: Main, news
Eufaula school feels the chill from Trump’s funding freeze
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 9, 2025
When the Trump administration announced this week it was freezing over $70 million in education funding earmarked for Oklahoma, it surprised a lot of administrators. Eufaula School Superintendent Mont...
A: Main, news
Trump freezes over $70 million in state’s education funds
July 9, 2025
States won’t receive funds from six federal programs, including after-school care and English learner support, until further notice. NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL OKLAHOMA VOICE OKLAHOMA CITY — The Trump admini...
Noah Alexander trades football uniform for West Point uniform
A: Main, news
Noah Alexander trades football uniform for West Point uniform
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 9, 2025
Noah Alexander will begin his senior year at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., this fall. It seems like only yesterday he was a stand-out running back for the Eufaula Ironheads, ...
United for Oklahoma
ePaper
google_play
app_store
Editor Picks
Bud McCombs to speak to Friends of Library
news
Bud McCombs to speak to Friends of Library
By LENORE BECHTEL 
July 9, 2025
How Eufaula happened to exist will be Friend’s speaker’s topic at the Eufaula Memorial Library at 1 p.m. Friday, July 18, When Eufaula was only an intersection, the city’s founding fathers lived in a ...
news
Annual Memorial Service planned at Honey Springs Battlefield
July 9, 2025
CHECOTAH — Honey Springs Battlefield will hold its annual memorial service on Saturday, July 19, at 10:30 a.m. to honor the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah. The service ...
Calls needed to protect National Weather Service operations
commentary
Calls needed to protect National Weather Service operations
By JOE DORMAN OICA CEO 
July 9, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY – We at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) extend our deepest condolences to families tragically impacted by the recent flooding in Texas. Flooding along the Guadalupe Rive...
news
Jeff Starling launches campaign for attorney general
July 9, 2025
TULSA ––Jeff Starling, Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy and Environment, has officially announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Oklahoma. Starling is a conservative, attorney, businessman, and d...
Warriors of God, ready yourselves
commentary
Warriors of God, ready yourselves
July 9, 2025
Of my 56 years of being in this world, 50 of those years I have been filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I was only six years old when I attended my first Tiger Mount...
Facebook

THE EUFAULA INDIAN JOURNAL
100 N. 2nd Street
Eufaula, OK 74432

(918) 689-2191

This site complies with ADA requirements

© 2023 THE EUFAULA INDIAN JOURNAL

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Policy