PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — Teacher Feature is sponsored by Kogan & DiSalvo.

CBS12 News’ next “Teacher Feature” won zone ‘Teacher of the Year’ within St. Lucie Public Schools.

Jasmine Shepard teaches business education too all grades at Port St. Lucie High School. She has been a teacher for five years and prepares her students to be ready for the real world.

“I’m a firm believer with business that this can translate to any industry. So, whether they want to go into business, or they want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or go into a trade. All of these skills, these workplace skills, are crucial for them in their future,” said Shepard. “For me, I do a lot of mock things. So, I put interviews into place. We just, we’re revising a mock showcase we did with business plans. So we’re putting this into practice instead of, hey, here’s a worksheet, here’s the thought about what we’re doing. I like to do collaborative work, as you can see, with everybody here. And then I put things in the real-world practice.”

Shepard says there’s a lot of skills to be learned in her class that students can take to college and the real world.

“Being able to talk to people, being able to show why they’re employable, being able to say, hey, I have an idea. I don’t know exactly how to form it, but I want some help with that. Biggest thing for me is connections,” said Shepard.

“When you connect with someone, how do you make sure you stay in contact? LinkedIn is a big thing that we teach about time management, talking to someone and shaking their hand when you get into the room and when you leave the room when you set a meeting, set a follow up, those types of things. So all of those things translate into whatever they’re choosing to do.”

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Some schools may not have a business management class like this in high school, giving Shepard’s students an edge on the real world.

“When I first started, we actually only had two of the years instead of three, so we built this up from the beginning. My students start with social media marketing, which is huge and relevant right now, and then entrepreneurship and small business is what this course is, they’re learning how to build a business. And then year three is management. So how do you become a leader in your field?” said Shepard. “That gives them an edge, because they also walk out of here with four industry certifications. If I had that in high school, man, I feel like I’d be the president at this point. But to be able to give them that edge over other schools, or other counties, other states, that’s huge for my students, because they have the potential. They really do.”

Shepard’s beneficial and real-world lessons that led to her winning zone Teacher of the Year for the school district. She says it’s not because of her teaching; it’s because of her students and how much they show up for her pushes her to be the best she can every day.