SAN MARCOS — A local high school anatomy and physiology teacher was honored with the experience of a lifetime last week, when she set sail on a cruise to Mexico after being chosen as one of the country’s 100 most impressive teachers out of around 50,000 nominations.
Marci Davis, who has taught at San Marcos High School for the past eleven years, was nominated by a former student earlier this year for Norwegian Cruise Line’s Giving Joy contest. In July, Davis found out she had made it into the top 100 entries with the help of testimonials from her students, coworkers and administrators.
Not only that, but Davis found out she had been voted as one of the top 30 teachers out of those selected, which she said was even more of an honor.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Davis said. “To end voting in the top 30 just says so much about our culture at San Marcos Unified and San Marcos High School, because I had to have staff and students and administrators really rally for me.”
Departing on Oct. 27, Davis and her fellow teachers from all over the United States set sail on the Norwegian Prima for its maiden voyage to Progreso, Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula on a five-day round trip. On their “sea days,” the passengers enjoyed activities like a three-tier racetrack and virtual reality games, along with an on-board Kelly Clarkson concert.
Each of the teachers were also allowed to bring a guest, so Davis brought her best friend and fellow San Marcos High School teacher.
Along with teaching anatomy and physiology to juniors and seniors, Davis also leads a second-year health care essentials course that is part of the district’s health care pathway. There, she oversees students as they pursue health care internships throughout the county.
Students have always been her passion, and she said she enjoys building rapport and relationships with them, something distance learning made especially difficult. However, she did her best to keep kids engaged, and the student who ended up nominating her was in one of her virtual classes during distance learning.
“It’s been a really rough couple years, not just for teachers but for our students. To be recognized especially during this time, where it was the hardest of my career, was really really special,” Davis said.
Testimonials from students spoke to Davis’s passion for students and teaching.
“Ms. Davis has a passion for teaching and loves helping her students succeed in and out of the classroom. I learned so much from her not only about anatomy, but about life,” one student wrote.
“She did above and beyond to accommodate her students during distance learning and put her whole heart into making her students control life,” another said.
