The Roosevelt community was heartbroken to hear of the loss of Mr. Nelson Odoms on Sunday, November 15th, 2020. Mr. Odoms was a technological education teacher here at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. He taught students about coding and computer science, often a new topic for his students. He made sure to show up to class everyday greeting all his students with a smile and teaching them something new everyday. Showing up really counted to many of his students since they did enjoy going to his class and loved it.

Many students felt his class to be amazing. Many saw him to be a good man and such a helpful person. They saw him to be different. “It might seem weird because students hate having work, but he made the work fun”, a student continues, “his classes were truly amazing”. Mr. Odoms valued connecting with students, knowing how to make the class fun and exciting, how to push people from their limits, seeing what seemed impossible actually possible. He had the patience to wait for each student to succeed. He impacted lives, truly making a difference in each part. He made each second of class worthwhile.

He did his job to teach but to also make sure everyone was okay and comfortable with everything that’s going on with them. It’s not their degree that counts in a person’s eye, but it’s about being a kind hearted person and being the best person you can be that matters. Just trying is so important and Mr. Odoms did it all, making such a beautiful impact. “He was funny, he would make the class laugh, and continue to teach in a fun way,” one student remarked. Many jobs could be hard, but being an amazing teacher is one of the hardest. Mr. Odoms inspired hope, opened a new world of possibilities and imagination.

Many in our community may not have got the chance to know him, or even had him as a teacher, but he’ll forever remain important to other students, teachers, staff and around the ERHS community. In one Raider’s words, “he welcomed the whole class with opened arms.” A man by the name of David Breeks said, “The point of being a teacher is to do more than impart facts, it’s to shape the way students perceive the world, to help a student absorb the rules of a discipline. The teachers who do that get remembered.” Thank you Mr. Odoms, for not only teaching us something new, but for being part of our journeys.

May you rest in peace.