This is Northern Michigan University alumna Susan Lockhart and her family Ñ husband Derek; daughter Taylor, 13; and son Evan, 10. Susan Lockhart is featured in a recent Stockbridge Community News article. (Photo courtesy of Frazzini Photography)

STOCKBRIDGE — NMU alumna Susan (Gilbert) Lockhart, a junior/senior high school math and physical education teacher at downstate Stockbridge Community Schools, is the subject of a recent newsletter spotlight for effectively channeling her passion for fitness to benefit students academically.

Lockhart has taught in the Stockbridge school district for 16 years.

Lockhart said her former cross country coach, who also taught math, was the most influential person in her life and inspired her career choice.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree from NMU in 2004, she moved downstate and earned a master’s degree from Marygrove College.

Here is her advice to students, as highlighted in the Stockbridge Community News article:

“Not everything has to go as planned in order for it to be perfect. You have the power to overcome any situation in life and that starts with having a positive attitude and believing you can do it. You’re not judged by the situations you encounter in life, but by how you respond to those situations.”

This sage advice is something she helps her students to live up to every chance she gets.

According to the article, Lockhart goes the “extra mile” as a math teacher to help struggling students, and often gives her own time to help a student master a math concept or make up an assignment or test.

Lockhart was quoted as citing studies indicating that maintaining a healthy body can help students focus in the classroom, become better teachers and help in overall classroom performance — all of which lead to better grades, higher test scores, reduced absences and improved memory.

Lockhart and her husband, Derek, and children, Taylor and Evan, live in the Stockbridge area where Derek grew up and where his family remains.

However, Lockhart said her young daughter has already expressed an interest in going to Northern.