This is the story of Barbara Shoemaker and her work as an Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) Teacher Partner in Oneida, Tennessee. It is the story of what she values and the experiences that shaped her approach to education. In particular it is about what she learned from her experience with the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, and how she passed on those lessons to other teacher leaders in Appalachia. Her story was chosen because it illuminates the ways in which ARSI invested in individual teachers, and how, in turn, those individuals contributed to the overall leadership capacity and improvement infrastructure for mathematics and science education in Appalachia. (Contains 2 footnotes.)