The airman clutched a stack of letters from the students at the school where he helps students with behavior.
Spencer Hessman thanked the students and staff at Webb Elementary School for their support during his deployment to Kuwait, nearly 7,000 miles from the school where he works as a behavior interventionist.
The letters brighten his day and makes him feel supported, Hessman said in the video.
"I love them. It really filled my bucket and brightened my day," he said in the video.
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The efforts of the school to send Hessman letters, videos, packages and valentines while he was deployed has earned the principal at the school a nationwide award.
Cheryl Moran was recognized as a Patriotic Employer by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for her support of Hessman, who was deployed as part of the Air Force Reserve.
Hessman nominated Moran for the award for her efforts to organize a schoolwide response that would make him feel supported while he was on military leave.
The award is in Moran’s name, but the former principal at the school is crediting all of the students and staff at the school for coming together to make sure Hessman knew they were thinking about him during his military leave away from the school.
"It really was reflective of our entire building," Moran said.
Moran mounted a campaign to make sure that Hessman heard from the school on a weekly basis. Teachers signed up for slots to send him packages, letters and videos from when his deployment started in January through the end of the school year in May.
Nearly all of the 320 students and about 23 teachers at the school sent valentines and were a part of the letter writing campaign. In turn, Hessman sent them back videos where he gave them a peek into his life while being deployed.
He talked to students about riding a camel and participating in camel races and answered the student’s questions about how he spends his free time in Kuwait: playing basketball, cornhole and other sports.
“He actually encouraged us and provided us with some comic relief as well," Moran said.
As the letters and packages rolled in, Moran received a request from Hessman that the staff not censor what the students were saying.
Sometimes the students thoughts provided comic relief and Hessman told Moran he shared them with other deployed airmen and that the students’ letters would lift their spirits, Moran said.
Hessman is a valued member of the staff at Webb Elementary School, and Moran wanted Hessman to feel that while he was thousands of miles away from his civilian job.
“What would you do for your own children? You would want them to feel supported," she said.
Moran had heard that one of the largest stressors of deployed service men and women was worrying about the status of their civilian job stateside. She wanted to make sure Hessman did not experience that stress, she said.
And she knew Hessman must have other stressors. She wanted the school’s response to be a relief to those, she said.
“He is part of our staff and our family," Moran said. "Why wouldn’t we support him?"
