Patricia A Divine Teacher

Patricia is a great person. It's in her to help you to be the best you can be in all that you do. She will never give up on you. You can always talk to her. She will be a friend closer than any other. Patricia is a teacher at heart. You can always learn something from her, if you are eager to learn she has time to teach. She is a great teacher who was very inspirational in my life. She was more than a teacher; she is a friend, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, an aunt and a pastor who gave unconditional love to all who cross her path.

I met this lady in my first year of high school. I was recruited for the cross country team; a sport I never competed in before, but with her guidance and the push from Coach Cole I did extremely well. Next season I played basketball for her and track and in the Spring. She made our team special when she took us to PENN Relays on the train to display our talents in a bigger arena. At Carver she was a mother away from home. After graduation, we stayed in touch and then one day I walked into my church and this same lady was now my Pastor. This lady is family oriented, community driven and people empowering. We accomplished a lot under her leadership from 32 children in the community to Disney free, a community soup kitchen opened two days a week, a food drive the fourth Friday of each month of a truck load of food and goods for the community, substance abuse program to give citizens of Baltimore a second chance and some a third she never gave up on her people, Shalom to service the HIV+ community and the homeless, youth programs giving children a safe haven on Fridays and after school tutoring, and court appointed community service programs for adults and children. I missed her dearly when she was transferred and the community felt her absence.

Then she talked about retiring from the school system and I asked her to reconsider because my youngest was going to high school and he was accepted to her school (Mervo). I needed him to have what I had, and I knew she would be my enforcer. She stayed until he graduated in 2011 and for that I am forever grateful. This lady has been all this to me and so many others including her own family. As a coach if you didn't have the right tennis shoes she made a way that you did.

Patricia is a mother to one son Kirk who she lost several years ago to an illness. She was a mother to many who she loved unconditionally. She cares for more than just her own, but makes a way for those who cross her path in need of a little help to make it through. Patricia gives a new meaning to "It takes a village to raise the children". So many call her Momma J.

Momma J was a physical education teacher in high school and also served as a part time pastor. She also coached volleyball, basketball, track and coordinated study hall for student athletes to assure they didn't have excuses for not stay up on their studies. She created after-school tutoring program at the church where students from Coppin State University and Towson State university teacher program would come twice a week to help the local student with homework and projects for school.

She is an awesome daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher, pastor and child of the Most High. She is the reason I honor this women because of the legacy she is building for others through her journey of life.