When Lori Zieba got locked in a closet, there wasn't an angry mob of students to blame.

Zieba was accidentally trapped in a school closet at Trinity Lutheran School. She is a first-grade teacher at the parochial school.

While her students attended gym class, Zieba went to a supply closet in a vacant classroom. "I unlocked the closet door and prepared to get the supplies," she said. "The air-conditioning unit kicked on and the vacuum pulled the door shut. Luckily there was a class outside at recess. (I could see them from the window inside the closet."

After about 10 minutes, Zieba was rescued. "A student finally saw me and heard my cry for help."

Zieba chose teaching as a career because she wanted to learn and grow with her students, she said.

"The most gratifying aspect of my job is teaching students about Jesus and to see them develop a personal relationship with Him," she said. "It also is very gratifying to watch students grow physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually."

Zieba uses a variety of lessons and activities to keep the interest of her ever-changing students.

"My classroom is a unique blend of traditional, hands-on and interactive learning. Having the opportunity to teach a different grade level almost every year has allowed me to use different teaching techniques and a variety of projects and activities."

In her eight years of teaching, Zieba has taught first, second and third grades.

She also is the volleyball and basketball coach for the fifth through eighth grade girls' teams.

Zieba and her husband, Frank, are members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau.