Millbrook is home to many stellar teachers, but one who truly manages to go the distance is track coach and history expert, Mr. Dustin Adams. Mr. Adams is driven by his love of history and was inspired by his past teachers to become one himself. He chose Millbrook because he too was a Wildcat during his high school career, and he knows teachers who worked at Millbrook in the past. He even had the opportunity to take over for his favorite teacher during his time at Millbrook Ms. Kelly Walker . The familiar environment accompanied with his past experiences made Millbrook a perfect fit for Mr. Adams. He began his career at Millbrook in the 2013-2014 school year; however, he has been teaching for eight years including his time outside Millbrook. This opportunity has earned Mr. Adams almost a full decade of teaching under his belt.

 Mr. Adams went to N.C State for his undergraduate in history and earned a minor in coaching, then finally pursued his Masters in Teaching. He enjoys being able to tell some of his favorite stories from the past and to share them with students who have similar interests. He also loves to aid students become more articulate with their writing and improve their critical thinking skills, and, most importantly, Mr. Adams loves to teach his students real-life skills. These skills consist of knowledge about money, personal finance, and investing. As for coaching, he has always had a passion for running and track. One of his favorite aspects of coaching is that everyone on the track is there by choice and they want to run, rather than in the classroom where some students are there for obligation. This allows for a unique opportunity to establish a bond based on common interests with the students. This bond allows for a new way of pushing students to their peak and allows them to seek and break personal goals and records.

 Outside of school, Mr. Adams loves to spend his free time reading, spending time with friends and family, traveling and, of course, running. He would someday love to go back to Europe, and this past summer he was fortunate enough to tackle the climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro.   

 Mr. Adams is a great example of an excellent teacher. He has a burning passion for what he teaches and the growth of students as they explore the long forgotten times and not so ancient past. He weaves important life skills into his lesson plans to help the future adults of his class with their first steps into the real world. Senior Marie Hill said, “I really like his class because there’s no busy work or anything. I think it really sets an example of what a class should be. He seems to genuinely care about us considering he sometimes does lessons on real-life skills like budgeting and stuff. He as makes the content of the class really interesting. Instead of just putting up a Powerpoint. He gives us the important info we need for the test, while also adding interesting side info to keep you intrigued.” This shows why Mr. Adams is such a great teacher and why he truly deserves this Teacher Tribute.