A Barack Obama sticker is stuck next to a New England Patriots logo, each specifically placed for attention.

    On the wall Hillary Clinton vies for the United States against John McCain and beside that there's a map of the Nile River.

    And when you step into her room, you're surrounded by paper children donning outfits from places like Mexico and the Philippines.

    "A child doesn't care about how much you know until he knows how much you care," Tim Markley, Catawba county School's Superintendent said, talking about Hamilton.

    For Hamilton, tying lesson plans to activities seems to be second nature.

In November, 2007, more than 4,000 flags surrounded River Bend Middle School, placed there by Junior Beta Club students, a project started by Hamilton. They were there in memory of American soldiers who had died in wars, a tribute to Hamilton's father, Clinton, a Vietnam veteran.

    And on Wednesday, students will accompany Hamilton to Washington, D.C., where they will lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

    "This is kind of a reward for their good grades and their good behavior," Hamilton said.

    Hard to believe, she originally didn't think schools in North Carolina were for her. After seven years of being dropped from West Virginia teaching positions because of the state's drastic loss of population in the late 1990s, Hamilton interviewed with schools across the North Carolina.

    As she was headed home — at a gas station in Mooresville — a call came from Sandra Bixby with Catawba County Schools asking her to return for an interview at River Bend Middle School.

    "Within two to three minutes, I knew this was where I was supposed to be," she said, attributing her success to  then principal Scottie Houston.

    Houston said that what separates Hamilton from other teachers is her level of commitment to the students.

    "That's her biggest asset, it's that she fights for these kids. She'd go head to head with me and she will not back down," he said.

    Hamilton said that she takes her work ethic from her father, a West Virginia coal miner, who would put in 12-, 14 and 16-hour days for her family.

    "I would see him working that hard and I feel like that if I didn't work that hard, then I would be a disappointment," she said. "By being the first person to go to college it's like the whole family is going there with you."

    After seven years in River Bend, Hamilton said the River Bend teachers have become like her family, supporting her in the efforts.

    "You talk about teaching those issues ... and how to make it relevant, she does that," her principal Donna Heavner said.