TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Plant High teacher's plight spurs blood drive

Staff photo by RUGENE MOORE

Plant High School students donate blood during the school's annual blood drive. This year's drive includes a bone marrow registry to help Tamara Phillips, a beloved teacher who is suffering from leukemia.

ADVERTISEMENT

By SHERRI ACKERMAN

sackerman@tampatrib.com

Published: October 31, 2009

Updated: 10/31/2009 12:33 am

TAMPA - As news spread of a Plant High School teacher's battle with leukemia, students present and past quickly signed up to help through a Facebook page, "We Love Mrs. Phillips."

"Oh my goodness," wrote Darrian Mitchell, one of 764 members of the page created in August. "I loved Mrs. Phillips. She was my favorite teacher in H.S."

"Mrs. Phillips you were my favorite teacher while attending PHS," wrote Victoria Paulina Romero. "I still miss your classes."

"You were one of my favorite teachers throughout high school," Olivia Rusnak added. "I know you care about each and every one of your students genuinely.

"As you can see, we all care about you equally in return."

The messages have overwhelmed Tamara Phillips, a 42-year-old wife and mother of three who has taught at Plant for 16 years.

"I cannot tell you how uplifting it has been," she said Friday.

Within 24 hours in August, she went from thinking she had an infection to learning she had acute myeloid leukemia. Phillips immediately started chemotherapy and blood transfusions at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.

Two months later, the leukemia is in remission, but the social studies teacher still needs a bone marrow transplant - and a compatible donor.

To help Phillips and others, Plant High is sponsoring a blood drive and bone marrow registry Monday.

American government teacher Courtney Beitler organizes the blood drive each year, "but it's different when you know someone who needs it," she said.

Phillips, who heads the school's social studies department and teaches law studies, is a mentor to Beitler, a 1999 Plant graduate who began teaching at her alma mater in 2006.

"She is just a very genuine person," Beitler said. "She can tell you really tough things and say it with so much love. It made her an incredibly effective department head and teacher."

Phillips, a Gainesville native and University of Florida graduate, has worked for the Hillsborough County school district for nearly 20 years.

"She is a wonderful teacher," Principal Robert Nelson said. "When all this happened at the beginning of the year, it was very hard on all of us."

Phillips showed up for a teacher planning day the week before school, but never returned.

"I miss just the day-to-day interaction with my students," Phillips said. "They're just so much fun."

Obviously, they feel the same about her. When her illness became public among the Plant family, last year's valedictorian, Jim O'Connell, set up the Facebook page.

Most of the members are students or former students praising Phillips' teaching.

"Every single day she came to class with an awesome story," O'Connell said. The 19-year-old freshman is studying pre-law at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

"She made them not seem like lectures. They were so captivating."

Phillips is credited with building the district's law studies program and helping write curriculum that includes a court preparation class where students watch trials and host their own mock versions in real courtrooms.

"Oh my God, she was my favorite teacher," said Bruna Soledade, who graduated last year.

The University of South Florida freshman thought she would study law but shifted gears to study architecture. Still, Phillips has left a lasting impression.

"She was always telling us stories - she had the craziest stories about robberies and murders," Soledade said. "She definitely got people interested in things. You didn't fall asleep in her class."

Recently, Phillips began traveling overseas with her students - like they do in French and Spanish classes. In June, they traveled to Italy.

"She really wants her students to learn so much and enjoy learning," Beitler said.

Phillips is married to Lee, a 1985 graduate of Plant. The couple have two boys, 13-year-old William and Walker, 7; and a daughter, Caroline, who is 4.

Phillips has set her sights on returning to the classroom next fall.

The drive and registry is 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at 2415 S. Himes Ave.

For information, call the school at (813) 272-3033.

Researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT