Moments with Leah Chestnut

Moments with Leah Chestnut 🎤 Gospel Hip-Hop Artist | 👩🏾‍🏫 EL Teacher
🇺🇸🇳🇬 Sharing faith, family, culture, music & real-life stories that inspire.
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Sometimes life takes you thousands of miles away, only to bring you somewhere that strangely reminds you of home.I grew ...
08/31/2026

Sometimes life takes you thousands of miles away, only to bring you somewhere that strangely reminds you of home.
I grew up in Jos, Plateau State, one of the coolest parts of Nigeria, surrounded by beautiful hills and valleys, fertile farmland, potatoes, strawberries, apples, pears, and fresh vegetables.

When I moved to America, I lived in Philadelphia, a big, busy city with a completely different pace of life.
Then I left Philadelphia for Bismarck, North Dakota, and something about it immediately brought back memories of home.
The calmness. The slower pace. The open spaces. The farmland. Even some of the familiar produce.
And somehow, this Plateau girl went from one of the coolest parts of Nigeria to one of the coldest states in America.
Of course, Bismarck could never replace Jos, but there are little things about living here that make me think, “This feels familiar.”
From Jos 🇳🇬 → Philadelphia → Bismarck, 🇺🇸 sometimes home isn't just a place, it's a feeling that unexpectedly finds you again.

Have you ever moved somewhere new and thought, “Wow, this reminds me of home”?

From the hills of Jos to a classroom in America, every part of the journey has shaped the educator I am becoming. 🇳🇬🇺🇸Du...
08/30/2026

From the hills of Jos to a classroom in America, every part of the journey has shaped the educator I am becoming. 🇳🇬🇺🇸
During my introduction, I had the opportunity to tell my fellow educators a little about where I come from, Jos, the beautiful capital of Plateau State, Nigeria.

Plateau State is known for its breathtaking hills, valleys, rock formations, natural resources, cool weather, and fertile farmland. And here’s something that often surprises people: many of the fruits and crops we enjoy here in America are also grown back home in Jos, strawberries 🍓, apples 🍎, pears 🍐, grapes 🍇, and lots of fresh vegetables! Jos is also known for having some of the coolest weather in Nigeria.

I also shared a little piece of my academic journey. At one point, I wanted to study Speech Therapy, but life had other plans. Interestingly, my undergraduate research took me into neurolinguistics, exploring the fascinating connection between the brain and language.
And somehow, all these years later, I find myself working with English Learners, helping students develop language and find confidence in their voices. Sometimes the path changes, but pieces of the original dream have a beautiful way of following you. Funny how life connects the dots. I may not have become the speech therapist I once imagined, but language still found its way back into my story

What is one interesting thing about your hometown, culture, or journey that people are always surprised to learn? 👇🏽

08/29/2026

When they asked us to introduce ourselves at Teachers’ Orientation, I could have simply said my name, where I work, and a few things about myself… but somehow, I found myself taking everyone all the way to Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. 🇳🇬 🇺🇸

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER IN THE ROOM? I thought I was simply teaching him English. Years lat...
08/28/2026

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER IN THE ROOM?
I thought I was simply teaching him English. Years later, I discovered I was also helping him find his voice.
Recently, I received a beautiful message from Raphael Daniel, one of my former students.

Now, let me tell you about Raphael.
He was one of my most intelligent students, and also one of the most stubborn! You know that student who is obviously brilliant, but somehow still finds a way to keep the teacher busy? Yep. That was Raphael.
I taught him from his first year in junior high school until his final year in senior high school, and years later, this is part of what he wrote about me:

“Mrs. Leah Chestnut is one of the reasons I speak good English today. She made English my favorite subject. In fact, she made me realize my love for languages.”

That love eventually led him to learn French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and others.
He described me as visionary, a disciplinarian who knew how to connect with her students and, his words, not mine“an angel sent from above.”
Okay Raphael, now you’re trying to make your former teacher cry.
But then he reminded me of a story that made me laugh.

One day, I gave my students an assignment to present an essay like a speech in front of the class.
Raphael kept messing up.
What I didn’t know was that he wasn’t forgetting his work he had stage fright.
Then, in typical Raphael fashion, he jokingly asked me to hit him on the head with my ruler to “charge him up.”
Apparently, the charging worked!
Because years later, that same boy who was afraid to stand in front of his classmates is now a pastor who regularly stands before people and preaches the Gospel.
Now THAT part made me stop.
Because back then, to me, it was simply an English assignment.
Stand up, present your essay, speak clearly, try again.
But to him, that moment became part of a much bigger story.
And that is one of the beautiful things about teaching: we don’t always get to see the full harvest of the seeds we plant.
We teach, we correct, we encourage, we discipline.
We push them when we know they can do better.
Sometimes they probably go home thinking, “This teacher is doing too much!” And then life moves on.

Years later, you discover that something you taught, something you said, or something you refused to let them give up on stayed with them.
Raphael even remembered crying on my wedding day. He said what really got him emotional was knowing I was marrying a man from another culture and that I might eventually leave.
And eventually, life did take me thousands of miles away.
I left the school, Ileft the country, I left the room.
But reading Raphael’s message reminded me that you can leave the room without leaving the lives of the people you impacted.
Your location may change, your title may change, years may pass, but something you poured into another person can continue growing long after you’re gone.
Maybe that is what legacy really is, not how long you stayed in the room, but what remained in people after you left it.

So once again, I ask:
If you walked out of the room today and never walked back in, what would people say about you?
And perhaps the more important question is:
What part of you would continue to live in the people whose lives you touched?
May we all live, teach, work, love, and serve in a way that leaves something beautiful behind.

Apparently, my inability to swim is now evidence that Nigeria has no water. My students really said, “Case closed!” Some...
08/27/2026

Apparently, my inability to swim is now evidence that Nigeria has no water. My students really said, “Case closed!”

Sometimes the best lessons are the ones you never planned for.🌍
A few days ago, I was talking to my English Learners about respecting differences. Our classroom is filled with students from different cultures and backgrounds, so I reminded them:
“Having a different culture doesn’t make one culture superior to another. Our differences are something to learn from and respect.”

That conversation led us to talk about where everyone comes from. Some of my students are from Micronesia, a region of islands in Oceania in the Pacific Ocean.
We talked about their languages, food, and culture, and I casually asked them,
“Since you’re from an island, can you swim?”
They all said YES!
Then came the question I wasn't expecting:

“Mrs. Chestnut, can you swim?”
Me: “No.”
Student: “Why?”
Before I could even explain myself, another student confidently answered for me:

“Because they don’t have water in her country!”

Excuse me?! Nigeria catching strays in my classroom! 😂

I laughed so hard, but of course, teacher mode kicked right back in. I explained that Nigeria definitely has plenty of water and even has a coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Then we talked about how Nigeria is a country in Africa, while Africa is a continent made up of many different countries.
What started as a lesson about respecting differences suddenly became a geography lesson, a cultural lesson, AND a comedy session.
And maybe that's exactly what respecting differences looks like sometimes, being curious enough to ask, comfortable enough to laugh, and open enough to learn something new about one another.

What is one funny thing you believed about another country or culture when you were a kid?

08/27/2026

I asked Nini what she wants to be when she grows up, and my girl said, “A stage singer!” Okayyyy, future superstar!
Right now, she’s all about K-pop. Her favorite KPop Demon Hunters character is Rumi, while Nova is Team Zoey. And you already know they had to give me their own little performance of “Up, up, up!”

I love watching their personalities, interests, and little dreams unfold. Today, the dining is their stage, tomorrow, who knows? 🎤

What did you want to be when you were a child, and did you end up becoming it? 👇🏽

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER IN THE ROOM? Sometimes, the answer comes years after you’ve left th...
08/26/2026

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER IN THE ROOM?

Sometimes, the answer comes years after you’ve left the room.
Years after you’ve left the classroom.
Years after the students have graduated.
Years after everyone has gone their separate ways.
And then one day, a former student sends you a message that reminds you that the little things you did were never really little.

As promised, I’ll be sharing some of the reflections and testimonies of my former students not to say I did everything perfectly, but to remind us, especially educators, that our impact can live in our students long after they leave our classrooms.
Today, I’m sharing the words of Mary Bulus Luka, one of my former students at Shekinah High School and now a proud graduate of Mass Communication from Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State.

Mary writes:
“Being a student of Shekinah High School Jos, Plateau State, was such a rare privilege.
Mrs. Leah Chestnut, being our English teacher and vice principal, was and is very smart, diligent, and friendly. I was in charge of cleaning her office, and she was neat and organized.
Wherever you saw her, you saw her beautiful and strong ruler. That ruler could make one turn a new leaf! I always wondered where she got that ruler from, but it did change me.

I had to always plait my hair neatly, cut my nails, do my assignments, and most importantly, stop distracting myself by reading novels during her classes, even though reading novels was my hobby.
She taught me how to write. She made me buy a writing book and would make sure I got it correct before going for sports. I learned to look up to her whenever I needed answers, clearance, or advice.
From my perspective, she is perfect and talented. I remember her making me participate in debates and encouraging me to read during our Christmas Carol celebration to help me overcome my stage fright.
She is a talented singer and is making good use of her gift in God’s way, which I find very inspiring. One of my favorite songs is God Forbid.

Miss Leah gained my trust when she took some students, including me, to a place called House ThreeSixteen. We made different presentations, and scholarships were given to some students in areas such as dance, drama, poetry, and more.
Today, I know someone whose opportunity from that experience is helping them put food on their table. This action made me respect her even more and inspired me to do good, help others, and expect nothing in return.
I am now a graduate of Mass Communication from Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State.

Mrs. Leah Chestnut, I specifically want to appreciate God for your life, and I appreciate you for the things you did. It is my earnest prayer that God will favor you.”

Mary Bulus Luka

Maryyyyy! Of everything you could remember, you remembered my ruler! Apparently, that ruler deserves an award for its contribution to education and character development.
But underneath the laughter, your words touched me deeply.
The writing book, the assignments, the debates, the Christmas Carol, House 3:16, and the opportunities.
Even making sure your hair and nails were neat.
Some of these were ordinary moments to me at the time. I was simply doing what I believed a teacher should do. I never imagined that years later, a student would remember them so clearly.
And that is the beautiful, and sometimes scary thing about being an educator:
Your students are watching, learning, and remembering more than you realize.

Today, that young girl sitting in my classroom is a Mass Communication graduate, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Mary, thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your story. May God continue to open doors for you, establish the work of your hands, and give you opportunities to impact others just as you have said you were inspired to do.
And to every teacher reading this: one day, you will no longer be in that classroom, but your words, corrections, encouragement, and the opportunities you created may still be living in your students.

So I’ll ask again:
When you’re no longer in the room, what do you hope the people you impacted will say about you?

What will people say about you when you’re no longer in the room?Sometimes, you don’t realize the impact you’ve had on s...
08/24/2026

What will people say about you when you’re no longer in the room?

Sometimes, you don’t realize the impact you’ve had on someone until they tell you.
After working for over three years as a correctional officer in a maximum-security facility, I was preparing to close that chapter of my life. There was one particular housing unit I had never worked in, so a few days before my last day, I specifically requested a shift there. I simply wanted to experience every part of the facility before I left.

I had no idea that shift would give me a moment I would never forget.
While working in the unit, I heard someone call:
“Chestnut! It’s good to see you!”
I turned around and recognized him. I hadn’t seen him in a very long time.
After we exchanged greetings, he stopped me and said:
“Chestnut, I just want to thank you.”
I was confused. “Thank me for what?”

Then he said something that caught me completely off guard.
“You were one of the reasons I changed.”
He reminded me of conversations we'd had a long time ago. He talked about the things I had said to him and how I had spoken to him. He told me that my words stayed with him, made him think differently, and contributed to his decision to change his behavior.
The amazing part? I couldn't even remember saying those things.
But he remembered.
And that taught me something I will never forget:
People may forget the conversation you had with them, but sometimes the words you casually spoke become the words they carry for years.

Corrections can be a difficult environment. You have a job to do. There are rules to enforce, boundaries to maintain, and situations that require firmness.
But firmness does not require disrespect.
Authority does not require humiliation.
And someone's worst decision does not give us permission to stop treating them like a human being.
I learned that you can be firm and still be kind. You can hold someone accountable and still speak to them with dignity. You can maintain professional boundaries and still remind someone that their life can become more than their present circumstances.
You never know when you're planting a seed.
You may never see it grow.
You may even forget that you planted it.
But somewhere, someone may still remember.

That day, just before I walked away from my career in corrections, I was reminded that impact isn't always measured by what people say when you're standing in front of them. Sometimes it's revealed by what they say about you long after you've left the room.
So I'll leave you with this:

If someone you haven't seen in years met you today, what would they say they remember about the way you treated them?

08/24/2026

POV: You told your American-Nigerian princess to pray for a cupcake, and she offered Jesus a partnership deal.

Nini asked me for a cupcake, so I told her, “Go ahead and pray to God for it.”
This girl closed her eyes and prayed:
“Jesus Christ, give me a cupcake so I’ll help You out. Amen.
Wait, HELP JESUS OUT with what exactly?! I was expecting “please” and “thank You,” but apparently she came to the prayer meeting ready to negotiate!
Kids’ prayers are something else so innocent, confident, and unintentionally hilarious.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard a child say while praying?👇🏽

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Bismarck, ND

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