JACKSON TWP — A teacher has the opportunity to change lives on a daily basis.

Just ask one of the many students instructed by Seneca Valley history teacher Jim Lucot, who was nominated for the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year award by one of his former students.

Lucot, 47, of Cranberry Township has been with the school district for more than a dozen years. Teaching wasn’t his first profession as a young adult, but it’s most definitely going to be his last.

In talking with former and current students, it’s clear that Lucot’s influence extends well beyond the classroom.

That’s exemplified by a packet of correspondences written by more than 50 students called, “Letters to Lucot,” a project organized by former student Samantha Franks, who also is the person who nominated Lucot for the Teacher of the Year award.

The “Letters to Lucot” packet wasn’t done for extra credit or any special perks.

Rather, they’re emotional and insightful letters written willingly by former and current students who wanted to show their gratitude for a teacher who has done and meant so much in their lives.

Whether it’s a former student praising Lucot’s work as an assistant coach on Seneca Valley’s football team, or another student who once hated history but now loves it, the letters are a striking example of what one person can do in a classroom.

One former student called Lucot’s impact on her life “beyond words,” while another said she’ll never forget Lucot visiting her in a Pittsburgh hospital after an accident.

It’s that care and compassion he gives to every single student that makes Lucot a “fantastic example of a human being,” according to a former student, and a “phenomenal teacher,” according to another.

The letters tell stories about where those students are now and where they’re going. Almost all give the credit to Lucot as the main inspiration behind their post-high school goals and ambitions.

“You are my inspiration to do well in everything I do,” former student Seth Dehart said in a letter. “Thank you for never giving up on me when just about everyone else did.”

Franks, the student who nominated Lucot for the award, calls him a second father and doesn’t mince words when it comes to heaping praise on him.

She decided to put together the “Letters to Lucot” and received help from one of Lucot’s children, who went through his cell phone and jotted down dozens of phone numbers to give to Franks.

It took a while to coordinate and combine the writings of 50 students, but it’s something she can cherish for the rest of her life.

“I wanted to show him that he’s the most inspirational person in my life and I wanted other people to see that too,” she said. “And now he has those letters to remind him how important he is if he’s ever having a bad day.”

Franks is attending Robert Morris University and is majoring in pre-med and biology with a minor in psychology. It’s a place Franks said she’d never be without Lucot.

“If I wouldn’t have met him last year I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said. “He pushed me to realize my dreams and made me believe I could do it.”

For his part, Lucot said there isn’t a day that goes by that he’s not thinking about improving his craft as a teacher or as a role model for young people.

He attends seminars and lectures every summer to keep up on historical topics, and he’s always finding new ways to get his students to connect with history.

One such example happens every Veterans Day when Lucot has his students pen letters to service members.

This year alone Lucot’s students sent more than 1,600 letters to active and former military members going as far back as World War II, and Lucot pays the postage for all of it out-of-pocket.

Lucot was floored when he found out that, this time, it was his current and former students writing letters to him. He admitted he didn’t quite know how to react when presented with so many moving stories.

“To me it’s simply amazing the kids would do that,” he said. “It really shows the power of teaching and the impact you can make on young lives.”

His classroom isn’t like many others in the Seneca Valley Senior High School.

Rather, Lucot’s walls are decorated with flags, pictures and memorabilia, so much so that one can’t be sure there’s a wall behind all of it.

He teaches not with strict adherence to text books or essays, but rather constantly interjects real-world stories about adulthood and what students can expect when they get there.

Or, as Lucot said, he tries to get his students to look beyond their upbringing in “lily white upper suburbia” and rather to see the world as it is.

That includes daily lessons or anecdotes about current events, which also includes dozens of newspaper clipping and political cartoons he shares in any given week with his students.

For all the lives he’s changed, Lucot reflected back on his decision to become a teacher and how it almost didn’t happen.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Duquesne University in 1989 and embarked on a fruitful career helping others. However, his wife is also a nurse and, when their first child came along, the couple realized something had to change in terms of work scheduling.

He earned a certificate in social studies secondary education from Robert Morris University in 2001, and the rest is history.

At 47, Lucot knows he still has many years left in front of the classroom, which is fine considering there’s no other place he’d rather be.

And, according to former and current students, there is nowhere else they’d rather have him be.

“There is not a day that goes by in which I don’t think of your passion for the job you do,” Brad Gresock said in a letter. “I thank God I have you in my life.”