Continual improvement and focusing on individuals help Christina Jacobs impact students’ lives.
Christina Jacobs, (BA ‘15), a Brigham Young University alumna in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, is going down in history as an excellent history teacher. She was awed to receive an award from a prestigious national organization recognizing her as the 2025 Utah History Teacher of the Year.
“I didn't even think I'd ever be nominated, or even if I was nominated, that I would be selected for our state," Jacobs says. “To me, that's just a massive, significant honor.”
Each year, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History honors the finest history teachers across the nation for their commitment to effectively and creatively teach American history. Each state winner of History Teacher of the Year receives $1,000 and is entered into the contest for National History Teacher of the Year.
One of Jacob’s former history professors at BYU, Jeff Nokes, associate dean in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, recalls her from his Building Historical Literacies course. He felt then that she would become a wonderful teacher.
“She is determined to continually improve as a teacher throughout her career, which to me is a key to success,” Nokes says.
For Jacobs, education extends far beyond a degree — the best teachers are those committed to becoming life-long learners.
Jacobs regularly participates in professional development opportunities where she can grow her teaching skills and deepen her understanding of historical topics. These opportunities not only happen locally but also include traveling to faraway places. She traveled to Israel to learn at Yad Vashem how to teach a Holocaust curriculum and spent time studying the education systems in northern Europe on location.
“To me, going and experiencing hands-on activities, or learning from scholars who devoted their life to that field is beneficial, because then I come out not only having learned a lot, but then seeing how I can incorporate this and use it [with my students],” Jacobs said.
BYU’s motto of “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve” has greatly impacted Jacobs’ career and pedagogy. As she enters her classroom, she recognizes that not only is she entering to teach, but also that she herself is entering to learn. Both she and her students are learners and teachers to one another.
And in her classroom, serving doesn’t need to be complicated. For her, it can be as simple as spending time with a student one-on-one to help them understand and master a subject or skill. She seeks to serve others by using what she’s learned — “to pay it forward and give back to others.”
While teaching and obtaining knowledge are an important part of a teaching career, ultimately it is all about the students. Jacobs incorporates these values into her classroom by displaying a quote from Christa McAuliffe: “I touch the future — I teach.”
Throughout her 11 years of teaching, Jacobs has collected a multitude of heartfelt notes from her students and compiled them into a book. On days when teaching becomes a real challenge, she reads through her book of notes to remind herself of the positive influence she can have on her students.
“You may not understand the impact that you have on them, but they will remember you. A person doesn't always show you how much they know until they know how much you care,” Jacobs says. “Oftentimes students will do a lot more for you when they realize how much you care about them.”
Another reminder that teachers have a lasting impact comes from the example of her own high school history teacher. When she visits her parents in New Jersey, she makes sure to pay him a visit too.
“I know he's been able to see that he's had a massive impact on me,” Jacobs says. "It's my hope that whether it be myself, another teacher, or even those that are upcoming, that we recognize that, even if we don't see [our impact].”
Everything teachers do for their students, Jacobs says, will impact them for years to come “whether we realize it or not.”
Rebecca Tarbet contributed to this article.