BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — Ask any teacher why they do the job, and they'll tell you it's for the kids. Also ask any teacher, and they'll tell you there's a handful of students that they'll always hold close to their hearts.
Jenn Parson is now a stay-at-home mom, but before that, she was a kindergarten teacher at Spring Creek Elementary in Bonita Springs. She and one of her students, Charlie Dimmitt, had a special bond.
"I had him in my kindergarten class 11 years ago," Parsons said.
"There's something special about her," Dimmitt told Fox 4.
He said their bond started with a love of sports.
"She would go out of her way to talk about things you like doing. Like for me, it was sports," Dimmitt said.
"He would come in every Monday and make fun of the fact that my Philadelphia Eagles lost in football or my Seminoles lost in football," Parsons said.
But Dimmitt would always come with a gift.
"He would always bring me a big container of red Pringles every Monday to start my week, just because he knew I loved them," Parsons said.
"Those are her favorite," Dimmitt told Fox 4.
Dimmitt went on to graduate kindergarten, but he and Parsons kept in touch.
"He used to call me every fall right before Florida State kicked off in football, and would wish me luck on my upcoming football season," Parsons said.
"Whenever the Cowboys played the Eagles, I would call her up and tell her good luck and that we would beat them," Dimmitt said.
When Parson's first son was born in 2014, she said Dimmitt and his parents showed up at the hospital room to meet him, and brought her a red container of Pringles.
Over the years, their friendship continued, and last year, when her first son went off to his first day of kindergarten, Dimmitt sent him a letter in the mail saying he hoped he enjoyed kindergarten as much as he did.
"I said that I hope he'd do good, because I had the best kindergarten teacher," Dimmitt said.
This year, it was Parson's youngest son's turn to go to kindergarten.
"Charlie actually met us at the gym and brought him a card himself to wish him good luck in kindergarten," she said.
"She made such a big impact on my life, that I wanted to make an impact on her kids," Dimmitt said.
And of course, he brought Parsons a red container of Pringles.
Dimmitt is now in High School at Florida Southwestern State College.
"He's actually in the dual-enrollment program right now, which is like taking college classes while he's in high school, so I like to say his kindergarten teacher got him started with that," Parsons said in a joking tone.
She was kidding, but Dimmit's mom Angi told Fox 4 it's totally true.
"The year Charlie had her for kindergarten, she actually got married. It was a busy year for her, obviously, but she still invested so much into her kids. She would go to Charlie's sporting events outside of school and encourage him that way," Angi Dimmitt said.
We all have that one teacher we always remember, and for Dimmit, that teacher is Jenn Parsons. And she holds just as special of a spot in her heart for Dimmitt.
"I've told this story a million times, and I get tears in my eyes every time," Parsons said.
The Dimmitts also told Fox 4, every year for the holidays, Parsons would bring each of her students a wrapped Candy Land game and a pair of socks to make sure each child had a gift to open on Christmas.
