HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — You know the saying if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life? Well, for Marcia Lewis, let’s just say she hasn’t worked for the past two decades.

The first grade teacher at Phenix Elementary school in Hampton is best known for her vibrant personality and interactive teaching methods.

“I had to think outside of the box. I didn’t want them to think that they’re just going to be sitting in front of a computer each day.”

And the pandemic has yet to slow her down. From at-home scavenger hunts to break out jam sessions to learn the alphabet. Lewis continues to find new ways to keep her students engaged in and out of the classroom

“I have boys and girls who will call at 7 o’clock at night after they eat their dinner, they want to make sure that they read a story and because Mrs. Lewis always says make sure you’re reading.”

She says her passion comes from the smiling faces popping up on her computer screen every morning.

“I always think of the positive, I think of those little eyes looking at me and like, okay Mrs. Lewis, you know, they’re our future.”

Lewis’ peers can’t stop raving about her either. The staff from Hampton City Schools told me how she not only drops off food baskets to her students, and even leaves workbooks and supplies in her students’ mailboxes on her way to and from work. She’s truly one of a kind.