NATCHEZ &045; The expressions from the heart of some of Natchez High’s best students were enough to bring tears to the eyes of their teachers Tuesday night.

The BETA Club hosted its second annual Most Influential Teacher Dinner, and the teachers chosen to attend were rewarded with more than food.

&uot;She inspired me, motivated me and gave me confidence,&uot; student Triyonna Green said of her favorite teacher, Daisy West. &uot;She just believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I could really call her an idol, an American idol.&uot;

The students chose from their teachers in all grade levels and schools and invited them to the dinner. Students sat with their chosen teachers and presented them with a certificate and a few kind words.

Kirsten Hickingbottom chose her former ninth-grade biology teacher Iris Myles as her favorite.

&uot;I want to be an educator, and that’s how I want to teach,&uot; Hickingbottom said. &uot;She’s a person I can really relate to.&uot;

Myles thanked Hickingbottom and all the other students for their words.

&uot;It makes a big difference when somebody comes back years later and says you made a difference,&uot; Myles said. &uot;I’d rather have that than a diamond or a piece of gold.&uot;

English teacher Irma Caldwell was invited to the dinner by Erica Davis. Caldwell said students like Davis were the reason she started teaching 35 years ago for a $4,700 salary.

&uot;What’s good about it is people like Erica,&uot; she said. &uot;It’s people like Erica and all those in here, that’s where the reward comes.&uot;

BETA club sponsor Barbara Winston took the chance to invite her favorite teacher to the dinner as well. Winston honored Alcorn State University professor Josephine Posey for the influence she had in her life.

&uot;We were expected to be master level students, and that’s the way she treated us,&uot; Winston said.

BETA Club member Ashleigh Irving thanked all the teachers for being MEAN, Making Excellence A Necessity.