When new picture frames went up around the Pearce Elementary School cafeteria, Patty Messner's students noticed their artwork right away.  

"The first week in there, the kids were like, 'Oh, look at the frames! Wow, this is so cool,'" Messner said.

The enthusiastic reaction from Messner's fifth through eighth grade students was exactly what she had hoped for when hanging their work just days earlier, in frames purchased through Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers. She wanted her students to see that her projects aren't just another assignment to turn in, but something worth displaying and celebrating. 

"Their work is valued beyond taping to a window," Messner said. "Now, it looks like a museum."

Teaching at a small K-8 school in the rural town of Pearce, Arizona is Messner's passion, but it wasn't always her path.

Before becoming the English teacher at Pearce Elementary, Messner was working as a travel agent in Pennsylvania. A board she served on asked her to volunteer to read to a group of students, and as she brought the book to life, a woman watching saw something in Messner that she had not yet recognized herself.

"Somebody came up to me and she's like, 'Oh my gosh, you need to be in the classroom,'" Messner said.

That woman, it turned out, was part of an executive women's council that believed in Messner's promise as an educator so deeply that the council offered her a full scholarship to pursue a degree. Messner accepted, going on to earn an associate's degree in early childhood education and later a bachelor's degree from Grand Canyon University.

Messner began her teaching career with kindergartners in Head Start programming in Wilcox, Arizona. As her work advanced, she realized the classroom was the place for her. Today, at Pearce Elementary School, she teaches her students for four years at a time, leading them from fifth through eighth grade.

Messner believes students should see real value in their own work, an essential part of her teaching philosophy. She emphasizes creative expression through unique writing and art projects, an approach that helped her earn major recognition as Arizona's Rural Teacher of the Year in 2025. 

Messner's passion for her students also led her to apply for Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers in 2025-26. When the call finally came that she had been randomly selected to receive a $2,500 classroom grant during Wishes for Teachers Draft Day presented by SRP last November, it completely changed her teaching capability. 

"I was so excited…I felt like I was one of those drafted football players, like I was just drafted by one of the best organizations in the country," Messner said. "This was like a child in a candy store, I'm telling you. That's a lot of money, especially in a rural area like we are." 

The artwork frames around the cafeteria were just one part of the vision that led Messner to apply for Wishes for Teachers. She also purchased softcover books for her eighth graders to write and illustrate, while her fifth and sixth graders are creating stand-up self-portraits of themselves pursuing their dream jobs as part of the Arizona 529 Plan essay contest. 

When Messner told her students about the projects the grant would fund, their response matched her excitement.

"They're like, 'Can we get started now? Can we get started?' They're learning that learning is not all about picking up a pencil and going two-plus-two. It's everything you do. It's all those experiences that you have." 

Every day, Messner gives her heart to her students, going above and beyond to see them thrive. Last year, one moment allowed them to show her that same care in return.

When a fire devastated Messner's home, with a beloved 150-year-old quilt among the losses, her students came together to support her in a way she never anticipated when she became an educator.

"My students heard about what happened to me, and they presented me with a quilt," said Messner. "They said, 'It can't replace what you lost, but we just want you to know that you're a part of our family, and this is for you.' That's what teaching is about."

For Messner, the four years she spends building relationships with each student and watching their empathy grow is the heart of why she teaches. The quilt they gifted her during a time of need serves as a reminder that teaching does, in fact, go beyond the classroom.

In the classroom, Messner's $2,500 Wishes for Teachers grant provided the resources to help show her students that their voices, dreams and creativity are valued – something they now see every day when they walk through the cafeteria and see their work displayed. 

Messner hopes other teachers can experience the feeling she had when she was selected. 

"Do it," Messner said when asked for her message to teachers who are considering applying. "Our principal did a massive shoot-out of the email to everybody, and I went around and shared how easy it was. [Fiesta Sports Foundation] had great resources to look at what other educators have done in the past…making everything very easy and very teacher-friendly."

Messner's story is one of more than 3,000 that have been made possible by Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers since 2016. Educators across the Valley are invited to submit their wishes, as Messner did, now through September 30. 

Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers are encouraged to fill out the 10-minute application by clicking here. Winners will be notified at Wishes for Teachers Draft Day presented by SRP on Wednesday, November 18.