GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) – The first classroom Yamaka May led was on her front porch as a child. Her students may have been stuffed animals, but her passion for education was alive.
“I’d give them fake work, and I would teach and talk to them like they were real human beings,” she explained. “That's kind of where it began. That's where fire began to burn in me.”
She now serves as Principal at Campus Elementary School, fulfilling a lifelong passion for education that came from her parents, who worked in education and the church.
“I feel like I’ve been surrounded by education all of my life; it’s embedded within me,” she said.
May grew up at GRPS, attending Madison Park, Southeast Academic Center, Westwood, Iroquois, and graduating from Ottawa Hills High School. After college, she returned to GRPS as a teacher.
“Being able to come back and teach at a place where I grew up at is truly remarkable,” she said.
“I love our people, I love GRPS - it's part of me. It’s who I am. I’m GRPS strong.”
