EAST BATON ROUGE - Shalika Scott has been an educator for 18 years. She began teaching at the age of 21 but would later fill the role of principal.

“Its a very very awarding career,” Scott said. “Everyday you get something different, it is a difficult job.”

Having been born premature, Scott has only two normally-developed fingers on her left hand. Scott had to work a bit harder than others to get here, but she runs the halls without any problems.

“As a leader, I am here early, I stay late, I walk constantly,” she said.

On Wednesday, the East Baton Rouge School System held their Annual Convocation. It's a teacher-focused pep rally to start the new year. Scott was one of several educators recognized as heroes. She says her only goal was to make a difference.

“I decided to get into education because I wanted to make a direct impact on students' lives,” she said.

East Baton Rouge Superintendent Warren Drake says he looks to leaders like Scott to improve classroom academics.

“This is not about academics in the classroom, it's about teaching from the heart. It's about teaching character leading by example,” said Drake.

Her perseverance to look past her disability makes her special, so her students took the initiative to make her a prototype prosthetic.

“Its just an honor for them to do something like this, especially something they did not have to do,” Scott said.