Carlos Salcedo/Arizona Republic

Dhamana Shauri shares her story at the Peoria Center for the Arts on January 24, 2018.

KJZZ partners with the Arizona Republic to bring you the Arizona Storytellers series. We record the live events and share them with you on the radio. In Phoenix, the storytellers sometimes share stories about our community or the life events that have shaped them in general. Megan Finnerty is the creator of the series. 

Dhamana Shauri always loved school, especially the first day.

In the fifth grade, she was excited to start the day off right. Her teacher, Mr. Thompson, started the class with an impromptu spelling bee and Shauri was sure she was going to ace it. Her word was forty but she spelled it f-o-u-r-t-y.

Mr. Thompson gave her a second chance but she spelled it wrong again. Shauri was mortified. Mr. Thompson gave her some encouraging words after class and Shauri knew the rest of the school year would be okay. Decades later, when Shauri was teaching sixth grade herself, on that first day of class, she had a student in need of a little help.

Dhamana Shauri is a spiritual practitioner living in Phoenix.

The next storytelling event is Aug. 21, 2018, at the Phoenix Theatre.

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