Some people cross your path for a moment, others for a season—but all of them leave something behind. Audra Yocom is one of those people who deeply influenced the way I see myself and what I’m capable of.
I first met her in 10th grade, when she was my computer science teacher. She introduced us to a UDOT (Utah Department of Transportation) competition where we had to come up with an app idea related to transportation. At the time, I didn’t realize just how much this project would shape me. With her encouragement, my team and I created PEDi, a pedestrian walking app that offered features like extending crosswalk times for disabled people and giving users different route options—scenic routes, safer routes, or paths avoiding major roads.
Yocom didn’t just assign the project—she believed in it. She believed in us. That belief was contagious. It was the spark that pushed me to think more creatively and to realize that even a simple idea could make a difference in the world. When we won the competition and were invited to spend a day at UDOT’s conference, it felt like a door opened in my mind. I can honestly say that was one of the first stepping stones that led me to where I am today.
After that, I didn’t have another class with her until my senior year, when I joined the school’s Rocket League esports team. Once again, she was at the center of something that shaped me. She poured her energy into growing the esports program, setting up scrimmages, organizing coaching sessions, and making sure we had every chance to succeed. I’ll never forget when my team was competing in the National High School Rocket League tournament—she surprised us with treat bags filled with soda and snacks, the kind of small gesture that somehow meant so much. She didn’t just support us; she celebrated us.
Even after I graduated, I saw her continue to fight for her students and the programs they cared about. While I was in the Home MTC preparing for my mission, she took the esports club to an Alpine school board meeting to showcase what they were doing. That’s who she is—someone who sees potential in students who might otherwise be overlooked, and then works tirelessly to help them grow.
What I learned from Audra Yocom is that teaching isn’t just about the subject matter—it’s about the belief you instill in others. She taught me to pursue coding, yes, but more than that, she taught me to believe in my ideas and to see them as something that could matter.
Life has a way of moving people in and out of our stories, but that doesn’t erase the chapters they helped write. Yocom will always be someone I respect for her consistency, her vision, and her unwavering belief in her students.
No matter where our lives go, I’ll always be grateful for what she brought into mine: the confidence to dream, the courage to create, and the reminder that a great teacher changes far more than grades—they change lives.
