First lady Abby Cox spoke to students and faculty of UVU during an event hosted by the School of Education to participate in award ceremonies and to speak on the State’s educational initiatives.
Speaking in the Clarke Building venue on April 6, Utah’s first lady spoke about her work helping improve teacher wellness across the state. Teacher wellness was what the first lady described as teachers’ mental and physical health.
“Nobody can teach somebody else to be well unless they are well,” Cox stated. “Teachers are at the foundation of our society. Teachers are the building blocks.”
The first lady expressed the importance for teachers to have resources for them in order to make sure they were taking care of themselves. She described how conferences like the “Show Up for Teachers Conference” have allowed these resources to be given to educators in order to make sure society’s foundation is secure.
Using a metaphor, Cox expressed the importance of teacher wellness by relating it to an idea of “cathedral culture,” saying that securing these things now will have generational impact not just in the short term but far into the future.
“[Cathedrals] were built, it took them 200 to 300 years to build,” Cox began. “So think about those first builds … and how long that was going to take. So think of them while they are laying those first bricks thinking ‘I will never see this, I will never be able to worship in this cathedral, but I am going to start working on it.’”
Cox expressed how important it is to have the mindset of the builders, rather than to have a mindset of destroyers. initiatives like these take time and the rewards last and reach across generations.
First lady Cox also talked about the initiative’s resources for foster care. The program provides several ways for people to help support foster children in the state, including mentorship, advocates and volunteer opportunities.
The first lady also shared thoughts and insights on her work with special education around the state. Also tied with the first lady’s “Show Up” initiatives, the program also provides support for special educators and help with the special olympics.
At the end of her remarks, the first lady called upon those in attendance to use their voices to the people who matter, people such as local legislators, advocates and government officials. She called upon the crowd to know these people by heart so they know who they can voice their concerns or worries to.
“In order for us as an education community to have a voice, you actually have to use it with the people that matter,” Cox asserted. “You do have power, you absolutely have power. You have power to be involved and you should be.”
For more information on first lady Cox’s “Show Up” initiative, visit their website; for more information on the School of Education and their events, visit their website.
